Through Tifa's Eyes
by Tifa Strife Queen Of Hentai
Summary: This is basically the game told through Tifa's eyes and what happened in the bits we never got to see. Hope you all enjoy! Luv, Tifa Strife, Queen Of Hentai. Oh and don't worry there is no real hentai ^_~
1. Chapter 1

  
"I wonder when Cloud will be back? I hope he is okay. I really hope him and Barret didn't fight.... no, who am I kidding, I'll be lucky if they haven't killed each other. I really wish they were back. Especially Cloud. I miss him. What the hell is wrong with you girl? I only saw him this morning! I really have to stop thinking about Cloud. Okay, lets practice this not thinking about Cloud thing. Let's concentrate on something else like, erm..." The mirror caught my eye. I stared at it for a minute and I could see the guys behind the bar checking my behind. I hated this, why was this outfit the only thing the hospital had left? I wonder if Cloud thinks I'm beautiful? I wonder if he ever checks me from behind, I wonder if he wants to...   
"Hey!"  
I turned around to see who had (so rudely) interrupted my thoughts. I was not very happy with what I saw. He was one of those guys who were as ugly as sin but thought they were gods gift to women, and I noticed that he had been in the bar before. That isn't the kind of face you forget in a hurry. "Hey doll face, how about another drink?" He grinned at me and I noticed he had some teeth missing (probably from all the fights he had been in), a shaved head and he seemed to have forgotten to shave that morning. It was pointless him calling me doll face seeing as he seemed to be talking to my breasts. Cloud on the other hand talked to my face... well he did talk to my boobs sometimes. But that's okay because.... No wait I'm thinking about Cloud again. I really have to stop this! I handed the guy his drink and turned to go when he grabbed my arm over the bar. The very thought of that... that thing touching me was enough to make me sick! I pulled my hand away in disgust, noticing his friends were nudging each other and laughing. I surveyed them all carefully. There weren't that many of them, and they were all drunk. I could probably take them all pretty easily. Then the ringleader moved his face closer to mine. His breath stank of alcohol and if I didn't feel sick before I certainly did now. "How much for a piece of you?" he asked. I moved away from him,   
"Behave, or I will have to throw you out," I warned him, I didn't need this right now, Cloud and Barret were late getting back and I was worried. I wanted to know if Cloud was okay. Was he thinking of me now?   
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the man's friends, who were laughing loud enough to wake the whole slums.   
"Just one question," he asked in a menacing voice "How do you like your eggs in the morning?" I couldn't believe people still used that line. The dinosaurs must of used it was so old! But I wouldn't mind Cloud using it on me... I turned to face the man."Unfertilised" I said, evenly. I was so angry. My eye kept going to the clock. I wanted to go looking for Cloud; they should have been back by now.   
"I don't think you understand," his voice seemed to have got even more menacing and I prepared myself to fight, "I ALWAYS get want I want."   
"Look you..." I was ready to insult the hell out of this creep and then knock his head off when suddenly Barret stormed in firing his gun. I had never been so happy to see him.   
"Don't think this is the end of this!" The man was shouting to me above the noise of Barret and the rest throwing everyone out of the bar. "I'm gonna screw you, and kill you!" Barret then grabbed him and started to drag him out of the bar. I didn't care! I didn't care that this guy had just threatened to rape and kill me, I would deal with it if and when the time came, all I could think of was where was Cloud? Everything calmed down almost suddenly, then he walked in. My heart jumped when I saw him. Nothing else mattered, it was as if everything else in the room had disappeared. He was staring straight at me as I stared back at him, I must have been so obvious, I just wanted to look away. But I could stare into his eyes forever.   
"Papa?" The voice made me jump, Marlene was in tears in the corner. I felt so sorry for her, she missed her father so much when he was away (I missed my father). But at the same time I felt a relief that I had an excuse to look away from Cloud. I tried to comfort her.   
"Marlene, aren't you going to say anything to Cloud?" She didn't say anything, she just shook her head. I could still feel Clouds gaze on me. I turned to greet him. God, I hoped I looked ok. "Welcome home, Cloud. Looks like everything went well." He smiled at me, it wasn't very often he smiled but when he did my heart felt like it was flying. I had to stay calm, I looked down blushing and asked the first question that came into my head, "Did you fight with Barret?"   
"Not this time." He also had an amazing voice, but his answer surprised me.   
"Hmm you've grown up. When you were little you used to get into fights at the drop of a hat."   
He didn't say anything. We were both silent for a moment (this was probably while I was being named.) It was then that something caught my eye. In his hand was a beautiful white flower.   
"Flowers? How nice... you almost never see them here in the slums but..." Was the flower for me? I didn't even know if I should dare hope so, but if I didn't ask I would always be wondering. I have to be brave. "A flower for me?" I healed my breath for what seemed like forever. He handed me the flower, I really could never explain how happy I felt. "Oh Cloud, you shouldn't have." Every one of my instincts was telling me to kiss him, but the moment was so perfect, I didn't want to ruin it.   
"No big" Cloud said as a smile crossed his lips as he stared into my eyes. I brought the flower up and smelt it without moving my gaze from his.   
" Thank you Cloud. It smells wonderful." I said. For a minute our faces were so close I could feel his breath, then I felt my face flush and I moved away in embarrassment. I wanted to change the subject. I wanted to be with Cloud, more than anything in the world, but some things he said just didn't add up, I wanted to be sure. And what if he didn't love me? What if I made my move and he rejected me? I loved him so much, how could I live with that? How could I live with neither his friendship nor his love? So though it broke my heart, I had to pull away. "Maybe I should fill the store with flowers." That was good, comment on the bar.   
Then we heard the thundering of footsteps and Barret came running up the stairs into the bar. "Papa, welcome home!" Marlene shouted. She was so happy to see him and him her. I couldn't imagine myself as a mother, but I could imagine how difficult it must be for Barret to leave Marlene behind all the time.   
"You all right Barret?" I asked him. I was much closer to Barret than I was to Biggs, Jesse and Wedge. He had took me in and let me join AVALANCHE when I had no where else to go, no direction in life. I was just a refuge from Nibelheim trying to make a living in the slums, just trying to make sure I got my paper every day for news on my childhood friend.  
"Great!" Barret said with a big grin across his face. "Get in here fools!! We're startin the meetin!!" I watched as the others followed Mr T.... Erm, I mean Barret down below. Only Cloud and I remained, I made my way behind the bar. I watched Cloud approach me, and hoped with all my heart that he wanted to talk.  
"Sit down." I told him. He did. Ok, good start. "How about... something to drink?" I really hoped he would say yes, I wanted him to stay so I could have a chance to talk to him.   
"Give me something hard." I couldn't help but smile, hard was what I hoped he was. No stop it Tifa, no hentai!   
"Just a minute, I'll make one for you." I made him a drink and gave it to him. I took a deep breath. He did seem like he was in a bit of a mood, but I really had to talk to him. I had to tell him how I was feeling. "You know, I'm relieved you made it back safely," I started.   
"What's with you all of a sudden? That wasn't even a tough job!" He was staring at me confused. I was so embarrassed, I couldn't carry on now.   
"I guess not," I said softly, I couldn't even look at him "You were in SOLDIER" He looked down at his empty cup. The silence hurt my ears. I had to break it, "Make sure you get your pay from Barret." I said hoping I sounded cheerful.   
"Don't worry. Once I get the money, I'm outta here." His words stung me.Why would he want to leave? Didn't he care for me at all? Didn't he realise how much I loved him? I watched him stand up, not wanting him to leave, but feeling helpless to stop him. I couldn't leave things like this. He stood in front of the bar for a moment as if he was also trying to think of something to say.   
"Cloud, are you feeling all right?" I asked. Something must be wrong, he didn't usually snap at me. But maybe he was annoyed at me for pulling away before.   
"Yes... why?" He asked looking at me curiously,   
"No reason. You just look a little tired I guess." I lied to him, I didn't want to lie to him, I wanted to know if he wanted to kiss me before, if it annoyed him that I pulled away. I wanted to explain why. But I just couldn't talk to him right now. I had summoned up all the courage inside me and he had snapped at me. It had brought me crashing down. "You'd better go down below." He nodded his head, looked at me for a moment, and then made his way down. I watched him go. I wanted to kick myself. How did I manage to mess that up? How? But then my attention was caught by something on the bar, the flower Cloud had given me. I picked it up. It was beautiful. No one had ever bought me flowers before. A flower from anyone else would have been nice, but a flower from Cloud was even more special. It made me a hundred times happier. I held it in my hands and just gazed at it. I remembered about back when I was 16. Cloud was all that mattered then, and Cloud was still all that mattered now. He meant so much to me that I couldn't find the words to describe the emotions inside. I knew I have beer glasses to wash, but I just wanted to sit there, staring at the flower. I knew I had a stupid smile on my face, but I just didn't care. Suddenly I was pulled out of my sweet thoughts by a bang downstairs. It was like something had been thrown. I dreaded to think what had happened. I put my flower down and made my way down, holding my breath, not quite knowing what to expect. I could see Cloud and Barret looking like they were about to have a fight. Why did it have to be this way? I wanted to stop them, but then Cloud saved me the trouble by walking away. No. I couldn't let him go. I lost my chance of telling him how I felt when we were younger and I wasn't about to waste this opportunity. Most people aren't lucky enough to get two shots at fate. I grabbed his arm. He turned to face me. His eyes stared straight into mine. They melted me. I was meaning to sound angry, but looking at him now, looking into his eyes I couldn't.   
"Wait, Cloud!" I said in a soft voice. His expression softened and for a moment he looked like he was going to change his mind. I felt his tense arm begin to relax, but then Barret had to butt in.   
"Tifa! Let him go! Looks like he still misses the Shinra!" Cloud's face darkened. He looked away from me, straight at Barret. He looked infuriated. I let go of his arm.   
"Shut up!" He was shouting. I wanted to calm him down, but I just didn't know what to do, everything was happening so fast. "I don't care about either Shinra or SOLDIER!" He started to pace the room. I wanted to calm him, I couldn't bear seeing him like this. " But don't get me wrong!" He was staring straight at Barret, contempt and venom in his azure eyes. "I don't care about AVALANCHE, or the planet for that matter!" I had to say something. I didn't want him to leave. Was it too much to ask that he could get along with Barret? Obviously it was. He had paused, not looking at me any more, like he was deliberately avoiding my gaze. I gently put my hand on his arm. I was trembling, feeling the tears sting my eyes as I struggled not to let them show.   
"Straighten things up with everyone, for me? Please?" I asked him as gently as I could. He just shook his head and ran up to the escalator. I stood there, stunned and numb. I was aware the others were talking but I wasn't concentrating on what they were saying. I was trying to blink back the tears. It didn't work, I felt a warm teardrop run down my left cheek. I quickly wiped it away before anyone noticed. Was this really the end of anything I had ever had with Cloud? No! I couldn't just let him walk out on us. Not just for me. We- all of us- needed his help. He couldn't keep doing this to me he couldn't just keep coming in and out of my life at his leisure. I had to push my feelings for him aside and try to convince him to stay. I would never be able to if I burst into tears every time something went wrong between us. I had to be stronger than that. Maybe I could still catch him. I went upstairs and to my relief he was still there (I would hate to have to chase him down the street in front of everyone, but   
who am I kidding? If I had to I would.) He didn't turn around. I had to think straight. "Listen, Cloud I'm asking you. Please join us." Again, he didn't turn around. He just shook his head. "Sorry Tifa..." He said softly. Did he regret leaving us? I had to know. I came up behind him and placed my hand on his shoulder. I was still shaking. I really wanted to make him understand why he should stay. Not just for me, but for AVALANCHE.   
"The planet is dying, Cloud. Someone has to do something." I was talking so quietly that if he hadn't been standing so close I don't think he would haveheard me. He turned around, and I let my hand drop from his shoulder. He was directly facing me now, a mixture of anger and despair in his eyes.   
"So let Barret and his buddies do something about it! It's got nothing to do with me." He turned to leave. I couldn't believe he was actually going to just walk out that door right in front of me. Was I nothing to him? Did he even care in the slightest whether he ever saw me again or not? I was suddenly overcome by anger!   
"So! Your really leaving?!" There was a new tone to my voice. It was like a mother scolding a child. He stopped walking, but didn't turn to face me. "You're just going to walk right out of here, ignoring your childhood friend?!" I couldn't believe I had just talked to him like that. I was relieved I had finally got it out, but I still couldn't believe I had raised my voice to him. He turned around to face me. He looked offended.   
"What...?" There was shock and confusion in his voice. "How can you say that?" He looked so offended I softened and looked down. I started playing with my hair like a schoolgirl.   
"You forgot the promise too." I said quietly.   
"Promise?" He sounded so confused, and that hurt me. It really hurt me. That night was so important, how could he just forget it like it was nothing?   
"So you did forget." I said feeling the tears burn my eyes again. I walked towards him and looked straight into his eyes. "Remember... Cloud. It was seven years ago. Look, the well. Do you remember?" I held my breath. If he couldn't remember this then I really did mean nothing to him. How something so small could mean so much to me I don't think anyone could understand, but I did. I understood how much this seemingly insignificant thing meant. After all, I'd clung to the memory for years. Just him and I, no one else. I watched him carefully. A dreamy look seemed to pass through his eyes.  
"Yeah. Back then I thought you would never come, and I was getting a little cold." Relief washed over me. He DID remember. I watched him for a while, watching his face as the memories flooded over him. That night under the stars. Every time there was a starry night, I would just go out and gaze at the night sky, and remember. Now he was remembering too,and it made me so happy. His gaze turned to me and he was looking into my eyes. I took hold of his hand and brought it close to me.   
"You remember now, don't you? Our promise?" He looked down sadly and shook his head. I couldn't bear to see him like that. I wanted to comfort him.   
"I'm not a hero and I'm not famous. I can't keep the promise." I had to comfort him. He didn't need to look so crushed . In my eyes he would always be a hero.   
"But you got your childhood dream, didn't you? You joined Soldier." He was still looking at the ground. I put my finger under his chin and brought his head up so he was looking straight at me. "So come on!" I said with a smile "You've got to keep your promise..." He was staring straight into my eyes. His gaze was now soft, and we were standing so close that I could hardly bear the longing I felt for him. I could feel my heart beating faster as his fingers tightened around mine. Our faces moved closer together, my heart gaining pace with each millimetre...   
"Wait a sec big time soldier!" The voice made us jump apart. Bitter disappointment filled me, and my heart completely dropped. I looked around to see Barret, who wasn't even aware that he had interrupted anything. "A promise is a promise!" inside me I laughed. How ironic. "Here!!" He threw a bag of gil to Cloud. I watched Cloud open it and rapidly paw through its contents.   
"This is my pay?" He said disgustedly, "don't make me laugh!" I couldn't believe it. My heart jumped up again.   
"What?" I said in joyfully, "then you'll...!!" Cloud glanced at me with a smile, but his face turned serious when he spoke to Barret.   
"You got the next mission lined up? I'll do it for 3000." Barret looked horrified, he obviously didn't share the same enthusiasm as me.   
"WHAT?!?!?!?!?" He screamed as I rushed over to calm him down. He was NOT going to ruin this, not now that Cloud was finally staying. "  
It's ok, it's ok." I tried to calm him. We talked about it for a while, and I reasoned with him. Then Barret turned to Cloud.   
"2000!" He said. Cloud just nodded.   
"Thanks Cloud." I said gratefully. He turned to look at me, when Barret yawned loudly.   
"You fools better be getting to bed soon," He said in a sleepy voice, "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." He made his way downstairs. Cloud and I were left alone. He was still looking at me. I stared at the floor and felt myself blush. He came closer to me.  
"We, ah... we should be getting to bed," I said nervously. "Barret's right, we do have a long day tomorrow." I looked up at him He was scratching the back of his head, that cute embarrassed gesture of his. "Yes I guess... But Tifa, could I take a shower first?" I hadn't even thought he might want to take a shower.   
"Yes, of course." I smiled. I showed him where it was. "We all sleep in the room downstairs on the floor. There isn't much space with Barret around, but you'll fit."   
"Right, got it. Guess I'll see you there then." We both laughed, and I made my way out of the bathroom, half disappointed that he hadn't invited me in with him.   
Downstairs. I took off my gloves and boots and undid my hair. I began to run my brush through it. Everyone was asleep already, Barret snoring loudly. It was annoying, but you got used to it. Eventually. I sat down on the floor and put my head on my pillow, half pulling the blanket over myself. I lay there with my eyes open, thinking of Cloud. I could hear the water in the shower. He wasn't singing which had to be a good thing. I smiled and absentmindedly ran my finger along a crack in the wall. I loved him so much. But I couldn't tell him yet. Some of the things he said just made no sense. His memories didn't fit with mine. I wanted to ask him, but I was scared. Straining my ears, I heard the water had been turned off. Then I heard Cloud enter the room. I sat up to see him. His hair was dripping wet. Long strands of blonde hair fell into his eyes, beads of water dripping off the ends. He pushed them back and grinned at me.  
"You let your hair down," he said to me, "Man it's long." I smiled.   
"Well, I have been growing it for a long time. So when your hair dries does it naturally go spiky or do you have to put a vast amount of gel on it?"   
"Oh no ,I go for the natural look" He said imitating the models you see on TV.  
"Yeah, cough natural," I smiled, teasing him gently. He laughed good-naturedly. I put my finger on my lip.  
"Shhhh, we'll wake them!" I said, but it was no good. We were both still laughing.   
"Who cares?" Cloud grinned mischievously. "Hey, dare me to hold Baretts nose?" He said with a joking menace.  
"No Cloud!" I whispered. "He'll kill you! And do you really want to mess with a guy with a gun on his arm?" Cloud looked at the gun like he was contemplating it, but then he shook his head.   
"I guess not. We could always say Biggs did it." That was it, we started laughing again. I finally lay down. I was really tired. Why did Cloud never show the others this side of him?   
"Hey, where can a guy get a pillow round here?" Cloud asked.   
"I left you one on Jesse's chair, and a blanket." I told him. He picked up the pillow, and to my surprise he made his way towards me and put it next to mine. He lay down and pulled some of my blanket over to him.   
"Your blankets big enough for us both," he said, smiling.   
"Well yes... I guess it is." I said shocked.   
"kay," he said.   
"So, okay." I said. We both smiled and I turned of the light by my head. Then I turned my back to him to go to sleep. He lay down too, he then shocked me by wrapping his arms around my waist. He pulled me in close to him. I didn't know what to do. I just lay there. This is what I had always wanted. I was so happy but nervous. He started to run his hands up and down my body as I lay there and didn't say anything. I wanted to just relax and enjoy it... but what of things went too far and one of the others woke up? And anyway I didn't want things to go further, not here. Not like this. He hadn't even said he loved me. It just wouldn't feel, right.   
"Is this ok?" He whispered to me.   
"Yes, it's fine Cloud." I said. I decided this would be okay, but nothing else. I let him carry on for a while. I wanted him so much, but I was terrified that someone would wake up. Marlene was asleep in the room too for Gods sake! "Cloud?" I whispered after a while, "What if someone wakes up?"   
He sat up and I turned to face him. Even though it was dark I could tell he was thinking.   
"Ok," he said.   
"Thanks, Cloud." I said. "You know it would have been different if we were alone."   
"I know, it's fine." He said softly, and I loved him more than ever. He kissed me on the cheek, lay back down with his arms around my waist he held me tight.   
"Goodnight Cloud." I whispered softly.   
"Goodnight Tifa." He whispered back. Though my head was spinning, exhaustion took over my body and I fell asleep.   
When I woke up that morning I was so scared that it might of all been a wonderful dream. But there I was, in Clouds arms. His legs were all tangled up in mine, and I just wanted to lie like that forever. Usually I have bad dreams, about fire, Sephiroth, my mom and dad, but last night I slept soundly. I had fallen asleep feeling so happy and safe. I lay in Clouds arms for a while, just listening to him breathing. He was exhausted. I had no idea what time it was and I didn't care. I drifted in and out of sleep for some time. I was sure it must have been pretty late in the morning by then, but it didn't matter. Lying there with Cloud next to me was all that mattered at that moment.   
"Tifa?"   
The voice startled me, I looked up to see Wedge standing above Cloud and I. I felt embarrassed for him to see me like this. Everyone must have seen us.  
"Yes,Wedge?" I said.   
"Tifa it's five to twelve. Barret's pretty annoyed you guys slept in, and I'm starving." He looked so pitiful, and felt I a pang of guilt.   
"Haven't you had anything to eat?" I asked him.   
"Well there isn't anyone to make breakfast." He said looking at me hopefully.   
"Ok, I'm coming." I sighed. I just wanted to stay lying there with Cloud, but I had to get up. I really didn't want to, I forced myself. I was careful not to wake him, but as I sat up he stirred.  
"Uh, where are you going?" He said in a voice that told me he was half-asleep.   
"I have to go and make breakfast for the others" I said softly. "I have to or they'll starve, useless people. Think they'd be able to figure out how to pour cereal by now. I'll see you when you get up, okay?" It wasn't really a question, but he answered anyway.  
"No, it's not okay but, if you have to then you have to." He still sounded drowsy. He hadn't even opened his eyes. I kissed him on the forehead. His smile made my heart jump again-that familiar feeling from the night before. I got up and showered quickly. Then I had to make everyone breakfast. I didn't eat breakfast and neither did Cloud, so I was okay there. Biggs, Wedge, Jessie and Barret on the other hand ate enough to feed an army. Marlene wasn't so bad. It was pancakes this morning, which everyone loved. I left them to finish their meal while I put my gloves and boots on. I didn't have any materia yet, but hopefully that would soon change. After the others had finished eating I decided to let them wash and put the plates away. I was about to go and see if Cloud was up yet when Jessie stopped me. I knew what she wanted to talk about from the look in her eyes. No one had mentioned last night to me, so I thought I was safe.   
"Cloud is pretty cute isn't he?" She said to me with no particular tone to her voice.   
"Well, yeah," I said quietly, feeling a bit embarrassed. However, she stuck her hand out to me. At first I thought she was being sarcastic, but I caught a glimpse at the sincerity in her eyes.  
"I guess the best girl won Tifa. I hope you and Cloud will be very happy." Slowly I shook her hand. I didn't know Jessie that well but she seemed to be okay. It was a kind gesture. I watched silently as she walked out the door with Biggs and Wedge. Then I heard footsteps behind me. It wasn't Barret's clumping size 18s, or Marlene's rapid footsteps. I turned around.   
"Good morning Cloud."   
I was happy to see him, even though I had spent the whole night next to him. "Did you sleep well?" I asked him.   
"Next to you, who wouldn't?" He said. I felt myself blush but I had a big smile across my face. "I don't know what you mean." I said as innocently as I could. We both laughed. "I'm going with you this time." I told him. He nodded. The idea seemed to appeal to him. Then Barret began with one of his boring, "inspirational" lectures. I wasn't listening. I couldn't keep my eyes from wandering in Cloud's direction , and he seemed to be doing the same. Things couldn't be better.   
  



	2. Chapter 2

I don't think I could ever describe how much it hurt to have to watch the one person I loved more than anyone on this earth fall right in front of my eyes. I knew the fall might very well kill him, that I might never see him again, that I never told him how I felt... I really messed up this time. I was sat on the train with my hands over my face. Tears were pouring from my eyes and there was nothing I could do to stop them. It's kinda like when the tap gets stuck and you pull so hard on it but it just won't stop dripping. That's how this feels, not matter how hard I try I can't stop the tears, or the pain.   
The noise of the train was so loud, yet to me it was like I was in a different world and the noise of the train was a faint, drowned hum. This different world was the most awful place I could be. I just kept replaying the whole event over and over in my head, trying to see if there was anything I could do to stop it. It's was as if I believed I could turn back time, and if I can think of a way to fix things, I could.   
"It's gonna blow! Lets go, Tifa!" How could Barret want to go, and just leave him there? I remember the panic running through me. He was so near yet so far, I just wanted to help him. "Barret! Can't you do something?" I had asked him. I knew there was nothing he could do. That was when the tears started. I didn't need to hear Barrets answer. I already knew it.   
"Not a damn thing." He had said. He sounded so calm. I on the other hand was panicking. Barret's calmness just made me feel more urgent.   
"This can't be real." I kept telling myself. "I'm gonna wake up next to Cloud and it's all gonna have been a terrible dream. I remembered waking up next to him that morning. How could I have been so happy only a few short hours ago? For the first time in my life I had felt complete, everything was right. It was felt as if as long as he was there with me, I didn't care what happened. Just as long as I knew he was safe I would be happy.   
I remember turning to look at Cloud and thinking what a fool I had been for not telling him how I felt. How could I have waited so long? I'm so stupid!   
"Cloud!" I said through tears, my voice and body visibly shaking. "Please don't die! You can't die! There's still so much I want to tell you!" It was as if me telling him this might magically make him come back and everything would be fine. I remember him looking at me, his eyes staring into mine. What if I never saw him looking into my eyes again? Why did this have to happen? Why?   
"I know," He had said gently. He knew, but how much did he know? Did he know I loved him? If he was still alive, would he realise that he meant more to me than anything in the world, that him coming back to me was worth it? He then looked at me, his expression soft.   
"Tifa..." his tone was soft too, like he had something important to say, as if this was the last time I would ever see him. I begged inwardly that it wasn't the last time I would see him, promising to myself over and over again that I would never treat him badly, that I would do anything for him as if this would convince whatever power that watched over us to rescue us from the situation.  
Now I think about it, I wonder what he was going to say? Was he about to say he loved me? I should hate Barret for interrupting him, but he was concerned. He wanted to get us both out of there before the bomb went off. The man has a daughter for god's sake, he had to think of her, I probably would have done the same in the circumstances, but at the time he seemed so heartless and distant.   
"Hey, you gonna be alright?" Barret asked him.  
"Shit! Can't hold on much longer Barret... Hurry!" He had replied. I remember during this conversation I had just sat there shaking my head, not believing... not wanting to believe what was happening.  
"Don't go cryin' like a woman." Barret replied. How could he be so heartless? I guess it's just his way of dealing with things. "There ain't nuthin' I can do for ya. Ya gotta get yourself outta this one."   
"Barret..."   
"Awright then, later." I just couldn't take my eyes off Cloud the whole time. I could feel the tears pouring down my face; my whole body convulsing. Then he fell. Every instinct inside me told me to jump after him. It's funny, it was such a long way down, but I just had to be with him so badly I didn't care. I don't think I would ever do that for anyone else. I tried to go after him, but Barret stopped me. When Cloud was out of sight I folded into Barrets arms. I couldn't move, I couldn't talk, all I could do was cry. I remember Barret lifting me off the ground and running with me right out of the reactor. It was all like a dream, it happened so fast and in such a blur. I remember the sound of the explosion, but I didn't look back. I couldn't look back. We had then got on the train and Barret had sat me down, and I just sat there, numbness penetrating my body and mind. Alive, but without the person who makes living worthwhile.   
The train came to a stop. Barret gently put his hand on my back. How a tough man could be so gentle, I don't think I will ever understand. It's probably that fatherly instinct thing.   
"Come on, let's get you back to the 7th heaven." He said quietly. I wiped away my tears and nodded. We got off the train and made our way back.   
The others could tell I had been crying, the looks on their faces told me that. I looked down. I couldn't face anyone right now.   
"Where's Cloud?" Jessie asked quietly, and I felt the tears come flooding back. I just wanted to be alone, just wanted Cloud back. I ran to the lift and made my way down. I sat down in a corner of the room, put my face in my lap with my arms around my knees and just cried, replaying it over and over again in my mind like it was some sort of punishment, and I deserved it. I was the one who made him come on the mission. If I hadn't he would still be alive now. Yes, there might have been a slight chance that he has survived but I had to be realistic. I didn't want to be realistic. I didn't want this to be real. It certainly didn't feel real.   
I don't know how long I sat there for before I heard footsteps. I didn't look up, I didn't need to. I could tell it was Marlene.   
"How are you feeling?" She asked, and I didn't reply. I didn't mean to be rude but It just seemed like an obvious question with an obvious answer and I couldn't face talking to anyone at that moment. I didn't feel like I could. "Stupid question I guess," she said, perceptively. "I brought you some soup, you didn't have breakfast and it's well past lunchtime." I could smell the soup, and it smelled good but I just didn't feel hungry, though I knew I should eat something.   
"I'm okay." I whispered, even though I wasn't.   
"Well I'm gonna leave it here anyway. If you get hungry it's here."   
"Thankyou." I said. My voice sounded odd, quiet, distant. I hadn't used it since Cloud had fallen, but it felt hoarse and overused, like talking was an unnecessary chore.   
"Were all going out now. Daddy says I can come this time because it's not dangerous, but I guess you don't want to come with us."   
"No, I'm fine here."   
"Sometimes when people feel sad I shower makes them feel better." Marlene advised. I wished it were that easy. "Daddy says Cloud will be fine, he says that Cloud is not the kind to just give up." I felt her hand rest on mine "and neither are you."   
I listened to her footsteps as she walked to the lift, then to the noise it made as it took her up. What she said made sense, I shouldn't just give up on him, but I felt so down. It felt as if it was no use getting my hopes up, because it was more likely to upset me then if I never saw him. I decided that maybe I should have a shower, it might help clear my head. Wiping my eyes I made my way to the bathroom. The warm water hitting my body felt so refreshing, but inside I was still torn up. I had managed to stop crying for a bit, but sure enough the tears came back. Didn't they ever stop? Wasn't there ever a point where all the tears in you just finished and you had to stop crying? I tried to pull myself together and washed my hair and body. I got out of the shower and wrapped one towel around myself and one around my hair. I took my clothes and made my way downstairs. I hated changing in the bathroom, the floor was always wet and the bathroom was so small and cramped. That was the good thing when the others went out, I could get changed downstairs. I made my way down and started to rub my hair with the towel to dry it, I then picked up my brush and combed out any knots.   
"Concentrate on what you're doing," I told my self over and over, but it was no good. I dropped the brush and put my face in my hands and cried.   
"Cloud..." I whispered. "I love you Cloud. Be okay, please be okay." I was sobbing out loud so violently I was sure my heart was breaking. Suddenly I was pulled out of my thoughts by what sounded like a laugh. It was a man's laugh, and not a very nice one. Almost evil. I could felt my heartbeat quicken and I glanced around with fearful eyes. I looked in the mirror, scared to turn around. Something caught my eye that I hadn't noticed it before. When we got up in the morning one of us (usually me or Marlene) folded all out blankets away and put them in a closet, but they were all piled on top of each other on the floor. My heart beat faster and faster, thudding loudly against the wall of my chest until all I could hear was the frantic beat of my heart and the blood rushing through my head with a dull roar. It was as if someone was… no I didn't want to think it. I tried to convince myself that no one was hiding under the blankets. But I still got up very slowly, not daring to turn around.   
"Just casually make your way to the lift," I thought to myself. I was clutching tightly onto the towel I had around my body. It was pretty secure but I guess I just need something to hold onto. Then I heard it. I didn't want to turn around and see. I was in no state to fight anyone. I tried to run but I felt someone grab my hair and pull me violently towards them. It hurt so much and I felt my hand go up to my head as I screamed. I could hear mocking laughter ringing in my ears. I was struggling to get up, but my attacker saved me the trouble by pulling me to my feet by my hair. My heart was pounding and all the time I was asking myself who this person was and why they wanted to do this. All I wanted to do was escape. I was turned around roughly, was brought face to face with the man who had come onto me in the bar the other night. Fear filled me as I remembered his promise to me   
"I'm gonna screw you and kill you!" His words repeated themselves over and over in my head and there was nothing I could do to stop them. He had a wicked smile across his face,   
"Judging from your expression, you remember me." He said.   
"No..." I whispered. This was not happening. When he had threatened me I didn't think twice about it, all I could think off was Cloud (Cloud...). He laughed,   
"Oh yes" He shouted as he slapped me across the face and threw me to the floor so violently I banged my head. My vision blurred and my head felt as if it was being torn apart from within as pain ripped through it. I tried to focus but it was nearly impossible. I let out a groan, but that was all I could manage. I could hear his mocking laughter, which seemed to be getting louder, yet more distant at the same time. He bent over me, and I felt like an animal caught in the headlights of a car, weak and exhausted, unable to resist yet unable to look away.  
"It's kind of hot in here don't you think? How about I help you off with that towel?" He asked. I got the distinct feeling I had no choice. Before I had a chance to reply I heard a voice that brought more relief than I'd ever felt in my life.   
"I don't think so." I heard the shots from Barrets gun and watched in horror as the man fell backwards. I heard my own screams as Barret raced to my side and put his arm around me.   
"Barret..." I said through sobs, "I was so scared..." I held onto him and cried, shuddering and shaking as the sobs wracked my body. I just kept thinking how that could have been me on the floor dead.   
"Are you alright? Did he hurt you? Did he rape you?" I heard the familiar sound of Jessie's voice, which at that moment was filled with concern and shock.   
" You got here just in time." I said through sobs. The others were talking but I couldn't hear what they were saying .My sobs drowned out their voices. I felt Barret lift me and lay my head on a pillow, then I felt someone drape a blanket over me. It was warm, but provided little comfort to the pain and shock I was feeling. I curled myself up as tight as I could. I just wanted to disappear so then maybe the pain would stop too. I cried so much I was sure I was going to just split into a million pieces, my head was spinning with voices, sounds and memories ...   
...I opened my eyes. I could hear the sound of Barrets snoring. It wasn't annoying like it usually was. It was… comforting, probably because it was so familiar. At some point, I must have fallen asleep, I couldn't remember when. My head hurt, and so did my arm. I lifted my arm to inspect the damage. Nothing too serious, just a scratch and some bruising. I guess I'll live. I suddenly remembered last night. Cloud, the guy from the bar... I sat up quickly and looked around me. His body wasn't there anymore. There was no evidence of it ever being there. I didn't know what they did with the body and I didn't want to know. I looked at the empty space beside me. I put my hand there as if it would make Cloud magically appear. I missed him so much, everything about him. The way he tried to act so tough in front of everyone, the way he scratched the back of his head when he was embarrassed, the way his eyes seemed to look so caring when they looked into mine, just the way he makes me feel. But I still have that; nothing could ever take that away from me. I have to be strong. I looked down and I felt so ashamed. I was ashamed of the way I had acted. If the roles were reversed Cloud wouldn't just give up on me. I wouldn't give up on him.   
"He's still alive," I told myself. " I don't know how I know, but I can just feel it. I know it sounds really corny but I believe he's alive. And I'm never going to give up on him unless I find out otherwise (and I'm not even going to think about that). "  
I got up and realised I was still wearing the towel that I nearly died in last night. . I noticed my clothes were folded up beside where I had been sleeping. I picked them up and made my way up the lift. I went into the bathroom and got changed and brushed and tied my hair back. I made my way to the kitchen and started to make breakfast, eggs today. I could have died just because I let the whole Cloud thing get on top of me. After surviving at the hands of the great Sephiroth, then to die like that... What if I had died and Cloud had come back for me? Then I would never be with him, then I would have lost every chance of ever seeing him again, ever having him hold me again, and ever hearing him tell me he loves me... I silently made a promise to myself, no matter what happened to me or Cloud, I had to keep my head and pull through. Yesterday would be the first and last time I will ever break like that. From then on I would be strong, if not for me... for Cloud. If he was alive we would find each other.   
"Tifa?" I turned to see Barret stood at the door looking worried.   
"You startled me." I said.   
"Sorry," He said looking down, "I was just worried, y' know, 'bout what happened yesterday and everything." Yesterday... I just wanted to forget it had ever happened, but I couldn't. There might be a part of me that never will forget. My face must have told him what I was thinking. "Sorry Tifa. You probably didn't want reminding." He looked apologetic. But I couldn't be angry, I could never be angry with Barret after what happened yesterday.   
"Barret, thank you." I said to him.   
"Huh? Fo' what?" He bewildered, and it made me smile.   
"You saved my life Barret. Thankyou so much." I said to him, I could feel my eyes misting over, but this wasn't the same kind of tears as yesterday. They were different. I put my arms around him and hugged him. You could tell he was uncomfortable, he sniffed.   
"Ahhh, it was nuthin'. Hell you woulda done the same fo' me."   
"Why Barret, are you crying?" I teased.   
"What? No! Me cry?!" We both laughed.   
"So tell me, what did you find out?" I asked curiously.   
"I caught some weird guy, can't be bothered gon' into the details now but he says the man we need is some guy called Don Corneo. Y'know, the -"   
"Everyone knows Don Corneo," I replied, mentally picturing the fat pimp as I spoke. "Could I be of any help?"   
" No Tifa!" Barret said. "Leave the lech alone!" I could tell he was worried, but I had to know the full story.   
"Barret, you KNOW I'll do it without your help or not, and I know you'd rather back me up instead of having me sneak off without you. Now what's the plan?" I watched him sigh.   
"You're a stubborn girl." He said, "But I guess I can't stop you." I listened to Barret as he explained to me about the Wall Market and if I was to get in what I would have to pretend to be. I understood. "You sure you'll be ok?" He asked me.   
"Please, I can take the Don and his men easy, you know I can." We both smiled,   
"Yeah, I know." He said.   
"What's for breakfast?" We turned to see Wedge standing at the doorway.  
"Some things just don't change." I said with a sigh.   
Even I had breakfast today, I was so hungry. I hadn't eaten at all the previous day. After breakfast I spoke to Jessie.  
"I'm gonna need a new dress and some shoes, something which will get me into the Don's place without looking suspicious. Could you handle that for me?"   
"Sure Tif, but I got just one question..."   
"What's that?" I asked.   
"Where do you suppose we get the money for the new stuff from?" She asked. I sighed while pulling out a small wad of gill. Whenever I could I had been putting some money aside, I had planned to buy some new clothes with it. Maybe some trousers, they would really make fighting easier. And I did get so sick of being perved on all the time. Cloud was the only guy I wanted to look at me like that. Oh well, there was nothing I could do now, it was going to a better cause. I handed over the money to Jessie and watched her leave with Biggs and Wedge.   
They weren't gone long. I had washed the dishes and put them away then spent most of the time, well... thinking of Cloud. They soon came back holding a bag with what I assumed had my dress and shoes in. Jessie handed it to me.   
"Thank you." I said.   
"Wait till you see it. It's a pretty nice dress but it's not really something I could wear." Jessie said. I looked at her and smiled. I could never imagine Jessie in a dress, she just wasn't the type.   
"And for her royal majesty Tifa, you will be escorted to the Wall Market in… a chocobo drawn carriage!" Biggs said while doing a little bow. I laughed,   
"Wow! Now I really will be travelling in style." I said. I knew I shouldn't but I had to know, "Did you guys hear anything of Cloud?" I asked, and they looked down at the floor.   
"Sorry Tifa." Wedge said.   
"It... It's okay. It's early days yet." I said trying to sound cheerful. "He will make his way back to us," I smiled at them. "I'm going down below to try this on. .o no one come downstairs, okay?"   
"Okay." They all said together.   
"Damn." Biggs said. We all laughed and I made my way down. I opened the bag and lifted out the dress.   
"It... It's beautiful." I whispered to myself. I was pleasantly surprised. I had been so upset about losing the money that I never thought I might actually like the dress. I undressed, slipped it on and looked at myself in the mirror, it was a beautiful blue, short and fell over my shoulders. I removed my gloves and undid my hair and brushed it. Next I took off my boots and socks and slipped my feet into the dainty blue shoes. I hated my big clumpy boots, they were far too big and uncomfortable. These, on the other hand, were perfect. I stood up and looked at myself. I had never got dressed up like this before, at least not since 16 when everything started to go wrong. No don't think about it now, it's not worth ruining this. It was fun, I liked it. I looked at myself in the mirror and I wished (oh how I wished) Cloud could see me now. I remembered him having his arms so tightly around me the night before, his kiss on my cheek, the warmth of his body next to mine, listening to him breathing in the morning, just knowing he was there made everything feel... so right. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine him there with me, but it was no good. It wasn't the same. I felt a warm teardrop run down my right cheek. I wiped it away. I missed him so much…  
"Tifa! You ready yet?" I heard Barret calling me.   
"Yes, I'm coming." I called back to him. I couldn't resist doing a little twirl in front of the mirror. As I came up on the lift I was met by whistles and complements. I felt myself blush. "Thank you everyone." I said.   
"Your carriage awaits, your majesty." Said Biggs.   
"Thank you Biggs." I smiled.   
"You show em' what happens when you mess with AVALANCHE!" Said Barret.   
"Oh don't worry, I will." I grinned, cracking my knuckles. "I'll see you all soon."   
I got on the back of the carriage and it started to move. They were all waving to me. We turned the corner and I couldn't see the 7th Heaven anymore. They were all good friends. Barret was the nearest thing to a father I had, since losing my own.   
"No, stop it Tifa!" I reprimanded myself. The past was something I tried not to think about, it hurt too much. I noticed we had stopped. We were waiting for some large metal doors to open. Cloud popped into my mind again, not like he was ever out of it. I hope he's safe, I wonder if he's thinking of me now? We went through the doors, and I looked out to see the old playground, then I saw someone I thought I wouldn't be seeing for a long time. I thought I was going mad! I rubbed my eyes and looked again. It definitely was him. Cloud! He was safe, Cloud was safe! He got up and turned to face my direction, he had seen me.   
"Tifa!?" I heard him call out. We were driving out of sight. I wanted to jump off the carriage and just throw myself into his arms. Nothing mattered now, nothing. All of last night seemed to be inferior, just as long as Cloud was safe. I could feel such a big smile across my face, and every instinct screamed to me- "Go to him." I was about to jump off the carriage- but no. I had made a promise to the others, they had trusted me to pull this off and now I had to. I looked back even though he was out of sight now. Cloud... Pain filled my heart, so near yet so far. At least I knew he was safe. I was taken off the carriage and shown to a room down some stairs. It was far from pleasant. It was more like a dungeon than a waiting room. Everyone, the doorman, the guy who had shown me around, and even some passing guards had mentally undressed me and made some sort of sick comment. I didn't know how some girls could live like this, the only person I wanted to hear those comments from was Cloud. I remembered seeing someone else with him. It was wearing a dress. A girl?! THAT was hard to believe. I only got a quick glimpse of him/her/it, but… What did this mean? I remembered how I had turned down every boy who had asked me out, because of him. I had always held onto the hope that one day he would come home and then... well the usual romantic story. I was so sure about my feeling for him, but what if he just viewed me as a bit of fun? The thought stung like a needle.  
" Don't think like this Tifa. Lets see if Cloud does care for you or not. Don't chase after him, see if he comes to you, if he does then he cares for you. If he doesn't then..." I trailed off. I wasn't even going to think about that.  
"Hey, baby!" I turned to see the man who had put me in this horrible room.   
"Okay, remember Tifa. You are a slut. Be a slut. Be a slut. Be a-"  
"Yes sweetie?" I said as sweetly as I could. He was looking me up and down and circled me twice looking me up and down the whole time, then his gaze fell on my breasts and he decided to talk to them.   
"Right here's how it works. "The Don is looking for a bride. Every day three girls are brought to him, he gets down with the one he likes best and eventually he's gonna choose a bride." He said it so casually, like it was nothing and it was perfectly fine to treat women this way. I would have paid good money to deck the little pervert, but unfortunately it would ruin the whole plan. "We are just waiting for the other two girls. Then we can get started."   
I gritted my teeth.   
"That's fine with me sweetie." I said. This whole act was more difficult than I thought it would be. The other two girls might be a problem. What if I wasn't chosen? Before I realised what he was doing the guy wrapped and arm around my waist and pulled me in, close to him bringing the other hand up to my breasts. I quickly slapped his hand and pulled away from him. I so wanted to kick this guys butt, but I couldn't blow my cover. "Naughty, naughty" I said waving a finger at him (not the finger I would of liked to wave at him.). "The, erm... the Don wouldn't like that." The guy grinned wickedly. I stepped back but for every step I took backwards he took one forward until I was up against the wall. He put one arm either side of me, and I felt horribly trapped  
. "You know…you're different from the other girls that come in here." He said, "You have this… classy feel about you."   
"I... I don't know what you mean." I said, I wished I were somewhere else, like with Cloud.   
"What the Don doesn't know won't hurt him." The guy said, he winked at me then he started to bring his face closer to mine, I brought my hand up and covered his mouth.  
"Not unless I tell him." I said, now I was the one who was grinning. A mixture of shock and horror filled his face.   
"You… you wouldn't…" He said.   
"Trust me, I would." I said staring him straight in the eye. "So from now on, I would keep my hands and lips to myself if I were you." An enraged expression crossed his features, and I had to really struggle not to laugh. He walked away from me and without a word and made his way up the stairs. I was pretty pleased with myself, I thought I handled that pretty well. No long after my victory I heard footsteps. Someone was running down the stairs. I turned to see someone in a purple dress with her back to me. She seemed to be looking down. Another girl then followed her, wearing a blue dress.   
"Tifa?" she said peering at me.   
Overcome by curiosity I walked towards her. How did she know my name?   
"Nice to meet you I'm Aeris (thunder and lightning can be heard outside at the mention of the satanic evil's name) Cloud's told me a lot about you."   
Cloud... how did Cloud know this person? I tried to think, we definitely never grew up with her, she looked far too weak to be a member of soldier...   
"And you are?" I asked, I didn't mean for it to sound rude but I just had no idea who she was. Then it hit me. "Hey, you're the one who was with Cloud in the park..." I said "the one" because I still wasn't sure if it was a girl or a boy in a dress.   
"Right, with Cloud." She said nastily. I couldn't believe how she had twisted my own words and used them against me like that. Deceitful bitch. Ahem. The thought of anyone else being with Cloud, male or female hurt me so much, it split my heart into a million pieces. I looked down and tried to control my tears.   
"Oh." was all I managed to say. Seeing my concern she added,   
"Don't worry we just met. It's nothing."   
Then why did she try to make it sound like it was something before? I wished she would make up her mind. But I don't want to seem possessives or anything, and Cloud hadn't actually talked about being in a relationship with me. I turned to face her.   
" What do you mean, don't worry. ... About what?" I shook my head, I didn't want to be saying this but Cloud and I have so much to sort out before we could start a relationship. "Cloud and I grew up together nothing more." I lied. I hate lying and I try to avoid it at all costs. I heard Aeris I think her name was, laugh.   
"Poor Cloud, having to stand here and listen to both of us call him nothing. Right Cloud?" She turned to look at the person standing away from us. I looked at the person to, my heart started to beat faster, I... I didn't even want to dare to hope, but I still couldn't stop hoping.   
"Cloud?" I asked, my voice was shaky, that was not how I had meant for it to sound at all. Aeris moved away though I hardly noticed, or cared, nothing else mattered right now. I watched the figure walk towards me, every step it took made my heart beat faster. I put my hand on his, it was shaking. He was looking down, like he was ashamed, I looked into his face. I couldn't believe what I saw. I felt myself jump in the air in happiness. Before I knew what was happening I felt myself throw my arms around his neck and bury my face in his hair, (or wig). He seemed stunned but slowly he wrapped his arms around my waist, then he held me tighter, and pulled me in so close to him there was absolutely no space between us. We stayed like that for a few moments, just not saying anything, I was just so happy to have him back, the relief I felt, to feel him holding me, to know he was definitely there, it was indescribable. I never wanted to let go, never.  
Of course, this would be much more romantic if he wasn't wearing a pretty blue dress. It suited him, actually. Brought out his eyes.   
I could feel Aeris staring at us. I looked up at him and he looked down at me with his amazing blue eyes that the dress accentuated so well. My eyes had misted over and I was sure his had too. He brought his hand up and brushed a strand of hair away from across my face. He stroked my cheek with his finger and I closed my eyes, enjoying his touch. After a few moments I opened my eyes and he looked me up and down.   
"Wow!" He said. I took hold of his hand and he gently began to stroke my hand with his thumb. I could feel myself blush. I had so many questions buzzing around my head. I had to ask them all.   
"Why are you dressed like that? And what are you doing here? Forget that, what happened to you after the fall!? Are you hurt!?" The poor guy looked overwhelmed. I let go of his hand and looked at him. He smiled and shook his head.   
"Hey, give me a chance to answer. I'm dressed like this... because there was no other way to get in here." I needed a minute to absorb this, I think he saw the look on my face because he turned away, scratching the back of his head. Cloud Strife, who was so proud, had dressed up as a girl, just so he could come and save me! He really did care. He must care a lot if he went through all that. But I didn't want him to go through anything. Couldn't he see that I loved him? he doesn't need to do anything to impress me, I could never love him more than I love him now. I don't think any human is capable of loving that much. He continued.   
"I'm all right. Aeris helped me out." He had no particular tone to his voice and I knew it was silly for me to be upset, he had just dressed up as a girl to come and save me but I couldn't help feeling a lump in my throat.  
"Oh, Aeris did..." I felt that pain in my heart again. He studied my face closely, he looked confused, and then his eyes seemed to widen when he realised what I was thinking.   
"No." He mouthed to me, he then stuck his tongue out and made a disgusted face. We both laughed. I felt him bring his hand behind me and he tried to pinch my butt. He just managed to so I playfully slapped his hand.   
"Cheeky." I mouthed to him. We were both smiling. It was like that night at the 7th heaven. I felt the old happiness come flooding back. I watched as he looked around the room. His face grew serious.   
"Tifa, explain. What are you doing in a place like this?" he looked concerned and confused like he had no idea what to expect. I knew this was coming, I really hoped he didn't think it was for anything…like that. He should've know I saved myself for him, but how is he supposed to know if I don't tell him? Not now, that was way too important to be told here. I looked at him and wanted to answer when I was suddenly aware of someone else looking at us. I put my head down. I had to try to think of a way to tell him without telling her too much. I didn't know if I could trust her yet.   
"Yeah, ummm..." I started,   
"Ahem!! I'll just plug my ears." I watched her walk away and cover her ears. Maybe she wasn't too bad after all. Maybe now she wasn't listening I might be able to explain to him how much I cared, how much I missed him when he was gone.   
"...I'm glad your ok." I said quietly, I was still looking down.   
"Thanks." He said gratefully. He put his hand under my chin and gently lifted my head up.  
"What happened?" He asked softly, concern in his eyes. I decided to leave feelings till later, this wasn't the time or place.   
"When we got back from the number five reactor there was this weird man." At least Barret had said he was weird. "So Barret caught him and squeezed some information out of him." I continued.   
"That's when the Don's name popped up." Said Cloud. I nodded. Just then I noticed Aeris kept turning around and lifting her hands of her ears. I hate it when people are dishonest, if you're gonna listen you don't pretend you're not. That's just unfair. It annoyed me. This was none of her business. Why should she care? Oh well I guess I'll just have to ignore it and carry on.   
"Right, Don Corneo. Barret told me to leave the lech alone... But something's been bothering me." Cloud nodded, understanding.  
"I see. So you wanted to get the story straight from Corneo's mouth."   
"So I made it this far but now I'm in a bind." I looked down, I wasn't quite sure how to say the next bit. " Corneo is looking for a bride. Everyday he gets three girls, chooses one of them, and then... and, well..." I could feel myself blushing, I knew Cloud was grinning. He put his hand on my arm and gently stroked it with his thumb. I looked up and pushed a strand of hair away from my face, yep sure enough he had a big grin on his face. That made me smile too. "Anyway, I have to be the girl... or I'm out for tonight." I said. Cloud didn't seem to care very much about the Don and his search for a bride.   
"Sorry... but I over heard..." Anger crossed Clouds face. I felt so embarrassed, I looked over his shoulder to see Aeris. "If you know the three girls, there's no problem right?"   
No she did not want to join us. I didn't even know this girl, she could've been a Shinra spy. "Ok make up something. " I muttered to myself.  
"I guess so, but..." I started.   
"We have two here, right? Horror filled Clouds face and he turned round. I didn't want him to be to hard on her, the girl was obviously very lonely.   
"No Aeris! I can't have you get involved." He said calmly but firmly. That was pretty good, she'll get the message now.   
"Oh? So it's all right for Tifa to be in danger?" How the hell did she manage to twist that? Does she want to pull Could and I apart or something? "But no. She really is our only hope," I thought dejectedly. I really didn't want to take her with us, but beggars can't be choosers, and if Cloud trusted her enough to bring her here then I guess I could trust her. I watched Cloud put his hands to his face in anger, I could tell he was trying his best not to shout at her, but she was really trying his patience.   
"No," He started, there was irritation in his voice "I don't want Tifa in..." I cut him off, I knew he didn't want me in danger he didn't need to say it. I approached her.   
"Is it all right?" I asked, I didn't want someone who would chicken out at the last minute. We both walked towards the steps.   
"I grew up in the slums... I'm used to danger." I surveyed her with a critical eye. She had obviously grown up in the good part of the slums, her clothes were all new and she didn't look very strong physically. It didn't look like she had been in very many battles. Oh well, she could learn, and if Cloud and I watched out for her she would be ok. She turned to face me. "Do you trust me?" She asked. I didn't trust her around Cloud as she seemed to have made it her mission to split us, but for this then yes. I nodded.   
"Yes. Thankyou, Ms Aeris." I said as politely as I could. She smiled and shook her head.   
"Call me Aeris." I smiled back. "Hey you never know," I thought, "we might end up being friends." My father always told me never to judge people too quickly. Then I heard a voice I recognised.   
"He..y!!" We all looked up to see my 'friend' from before, who was presently passing me the dirtiest look his eyes could muster. "It's time ladies. The Don is waiting." He started mumbling something to himself, it was probably something insulting and full of swearing. "Hurry up, will ya!" He screamed. I clenched my fists, wishing I could have finished him off before. Then Cloud spoke up.   
"I probably don't need to ask but the other girl is... me... right?" I smiled and nodded,   
"Your right there was no need..." I said,   
"...To ask." Aeris continued. I watched Cloud go to the back of the room and pick up something. He then approached me. I looked at him and couldn't help laughing.   
"Ha ha... you know, if you look closely your not so bad... I wonder what Barret would say if he could see you now..." He looked embarrassed but he still smiled and playfully went to tap me on the arm, but I blocked him. We both laughed. Then he made his way up the stairs and Aeris and I followed.   
Cloud was back. He was back and he had come to save me (though I didn't really need saving). And this time I would not lose him. I loved him, mixed up memories or not, and when the next chance arose ...I would tell him. I wouldn't make the same mistake again.  
~FIN~   
  



	3. Chapter 3

As we stepped into the room, I couldn't help looking around. It was really pretty. The Don was so rich, I wished I could have such a big home and be able to decorate as extravagantly as this. I looked at Cloud and sighed. There was only one thing I really wanted. He caught me looking and I put my head down in embarrassment. "Look at something else" I told myself. So I looked at the Don. Ugh. The Don was ugly in the extreme, sitting at his desk in the middle of the room. At either side of him were two equally ugly men. It suddenly occurred to me just how unpleasant this whole thing was going to be.   
"All right, ladies! Line up in front of the Don!" The first ugly man said. We did and the Don jumped onto his desk looking at the three of us with his tongue hanging out.   
"Hmmm! Good, splendid!" He said through the drool. This was disgusting. I was here because I had to be but there were girls who did this sort of thing every day. I felt sick. I hated it when guys stared through my clothes (Except for Cloud, duh). Next the fat blob jumped off the desk and started to walk back and forth in front of us.   
" Now, lets see... which girl should I choose? Hmm... hmm...!" I was getting more and more angry, the Don disgusted me so much and it was just getting worse. I hated being treated like an object when I was so much more than that. He went up to Cloud, I had never seen Cloud go red before but he was definitely going red now. The poor guy was staring at the floor like he wanted it to swallow him. "This one?" the Don asked. He didn't have a sexy voice like Cloud did, the Don had a, well stupid voice is the only way I could think of describing it. And he definitely had zero personality; yep the girls who come here are only after one thing, money. The guy is pretty rich but still the thought of that overweight pervert touching me makes me sick! He walked up to me and came close. I really didn't want him to touch me, I would hit him if he did and that would just ruin everything. "Or this!?" He asked, his breath smelt strongly of mint, he had obviously devoured thousands just before we had come in. Poor guy actually thinks he's gonna get some tonight, Ha! He went to look at Cloud again, poor Cloud. He looked like he wanted to die, I just wanted to go and hug him, and kiss him, and tell him I love him, and then... NO stop it Tifa! Concentrate on what's happening. It looked like it was between Cloud and me. I watched the Don jump in the air, I didn't know such a fat guy could jump like that. "Woo-hoo, I've made up my mind!! My choice for tonight is..."  
I don't know where it came from but I could hear a drum roll. I felt really nervous; I didn't know who I wanted to be chosen. "This little beauty!" The Don said as he came up to me. I was shocked!   
"Be nice, Don." I said as sweetly as I could. The others were looking at me and I turned to look at Cloud. He looked a little worried, but he didn't need to; the Don was a wimp.   
"You can have the other ones." The Don said to his two ugly friends. It looked like Cloud and Aeris had problems of their own.   
"Yes, sir! Thank you sir" Cloud looked horrified, poor guy had thought he had got off the hook. The Don came up to me, "Well then, shall we go me pretty?" He started to walk, and I had to follow him like a good little whore. I didn't want to leave Cloud so soon after meeting up with him again. What's wrong was me? I couldn't I bear to be without the guy for a few minutes. I must still be shaken from nearly losing him at the reactor. The other two nodded to me, I smiled and followed the Don. I couldn't help looking back at Cloud, he was staring right at me, how much did I just want to throw myself into him arms and have him hold me forever...   
The Don and I entered the room. It was a really nice bedroom, like in a posh hotel you would go to if you were on your honeymoon. I wonder if Cloud would ever ask me to marry him... uh, what's wrong with me? Think about what you're doing. The Don made him way onto the bed, I was still standing near the door, and I suddenly felt extremely self-concious. I hoped the others were okay, I hoped Cloud was okay. No, he could take those guys easy.   
"Come onto the bed my dear." The Don said in what he seemed to believe was a seductive voice, though it was far from it. I slowly walked towards the bed, wondering where Cloud was. I needed to know the guards were gone before I could do anything." Just keep him talking," I said to myself. I sat down on the edge of the bed as far away from the Don as I could. "Woo-hoo!" The Don screamed. This appeared to be his catchphrase. "Come, come, don't be so shy..." I was avoiding looking at the big ugly thing, and cum was NOT what I was about to do! Okay lead up to it and sluttily ask him about what he knows.   
"I know... But you know, Don Corneo I'd like you to explain something before we start..." I looked up at him. He looked like he was thinking, if that was actually possible.   
"Hm? Oh, you mean THAT?" Oh man... what did he think I meant? "Don't worry, I'm single. There, feel better now?" Oh sure, MUCH better. I tried to ask my question again.  
"No... I'm not asking about that..." I turned to face him when I realised he was shaking his, thing at me! Ugh! Yuck! That was it, I was gonna be sick! "Wa... wait a minute!" I said shocked. This was not how I had planned for things to go at all, he was meant to spill whatever he knew to me, then I would leave. "No, not yet!!" I said, desperation in my voice. I seemed to have done too much of a good job of turning him on, now how do you turn him off?   
"Come! Come!" He screamed, panic was filling me, what was I supposed to do now? This was all happening way too fast. He then made the most odd and sick noise, like some horny animal with its bits stuck in a thresher.  
"Aooooooh!!"  
"Is that some sort of mating call?" I asked myself.   
"I can't wait any longer! Here comes papa!!" Just when I was contemplating whether to beat the crap out of him or not Cloud and Aeris burst in. I was so happy to see Cloud; I turned to look at him. Just seeing him made the fact that there was on overweight, ugly, horny Don trying to do me seem insignificant. He was looking at me.   
"Cloud!!" I said joyfully. I felt the bed shake and heard a few buildings collapse, which made me realise the Don had jumped! I quickly rolled off the bed just in time as the jelly monster landed where I had been sitting. Was that supposed to be sexy? The guy would have crushed me! He looked from me, to Cloud, to Aeris.   
"Wha... what the hell? Who goes there!?" Oh this was what I had been waiting for.   
"You still don't get it do you, Don Corneo?" I could feel a big evil grin across my face, it wasn't very often I got to be evil, I liked it! I then did this amazing spin thingy and I was back in my normal clothes! Wow! Where the hell did I learn to do that?! I watched the Don jump back in shock (probably at my amazing new trick).   
"Get what?" The pervert asked, looking unbelievably confused. Revenge is so sweet!   
"Shut up! We're asking the questions now..." Wow! I couldn't believe I was talking like that. I could so get used to this. "What did your assistants find out? Talk! If you don't tell us... "I said, my voice sounding dangerous. I watched Cloud put his foot on the bed, he had an evil grin on his face, he looked so sexy I could just give myself to him there and then...   
"I'll chop them off." He said to the Don, I watched the Don jump and look horrified(and I don't blame him).   
"No! Not that! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!" He sounded like he was gonna cry, but I wasn't about to weaken.   
"So... talk." I said coolly.   
"I made 'em find out where the man with the gun-arm was. But that's what I was ordered to do." He said.   
"By who?" I asked.  
"No...! If I told you that, I'd be killed!" Damn this guy was thick! He still didn't seem to get it.   
"Talk! If you don't tell us..." I watched Aeris put her foot on the bed, imitating Cloud.   
"I'll rip them off." Aeris didn't really look strong enough to, but he bought it.   
"Wooooooooh...! It was Heidegger of Shinra! Heidegger, the head of public safety maintenance!" On hearing the word Shinra I turned to look at Cloud, he looked pretty shocked, he looked at me then at the Don.   
"The head of public safety maintenance?" He said, confusion in his voice.   
"Did you say the Shinra!?" I asked my voice was softening a little, I checked myself "What are they up too!? Talk! If you don't tell us..." Now I put my foot on the bed, I looked the Don in the eye. "...I'll smash them." I said as I cracked my knuckles. The Don looked terrified, and I really had to struggle not to laugh.   
"... You're serious, aren't you...oh boy, oh boy, oh boy... I'm not fooling around here either," "Hmmm, could have fooled me…." I said inwardly.   
"You know Shinra's trying to crush a small rebel group called AVALANCHE and want to infiltrate their hideout. And they're really going to crush them... literally, by breaking the support holding the plate above them." Numbness filled my body. I put my foot down, I suddenly didn't feel so confident anymore.   
"Break the support!?" My voice was quiet and confused; I couldn't believe what I had just heard.   
"You know what's going to happen? The plate'll go PING. And everything's gonna go BAMMM!! I heard their hideout's here in the sector 7 slums... I'm just glad it's not here in sector 6."   
I shook my head in disbelief. This was not happening, they wouldn't do something so drastic... would they?   
"They're going to wipe out the sector 7 slums!?" I asked, I knew the answer but I was just so shocked. I looked at Cloud and realised he had been watching me the whole time. He had that look of concern across his face again, this time he had a good reason to be. Just seeing him there made me feel slightly better. "Cloud, will you come with me to sector 7?" I asked him, my voice slightly shaking. He nodded,   
"Of course, Tifa." he said softly. I gave him a weak smile and he smiled back, we then all turned and started to make our way to the door.   
"Just a second." The Don said standing up on the bed. We all turned to face him.   
"Shut up!" Cloud said, venom in his eyes. Wow even when he was angry, he looked so sexy.   
"No wait, it'll only take a second." The Don said smiling. I didn't like the looks of this. "How do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about the truth?" He asked. I really couldn't see where this was going, and I didn't particularly want to know.   
"They've pretty much given up on life." Cloud said. He didn't really seem to care about the Don and his stupid questions.   
"Buzzzz! Wrong!" The Don shouted. To my horror he pressed a blue button, then the floor just disappeared from below us. The last thing I heard were my own screams as I fell...   
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

  
  
  
  
"You all right?" I opened my eyes to see Cloud leaning over me, concern in   
his eyes. All I could concentrate on was the pain in my head which hadn't   
fully recovered from my encounter with the guy from the bar. I could feel   
water underneath me. Yuck! Where was I? What was I doing here? Oh I   
remember... the Don... the plate... sector seven.... all I could manage to   
say to Cloud was   
  
"Man! This is terrible." But inside I was screaming. He gently helped me up.   
I looked around me and I suddenly knew where I was. The sewer. I had been   
down here before on another avalanche mission, we were planting an   
underground bomb and had to go through the sewer. I looked at Cloud, he   
looked uncomfortable like he didn't know what to say. Neither did I to be   
honest this whole thing felt like some sort of bad dream... but it was real.   
I looked away from Cloud and over his shoulder. Aeris was still on the   
floor. I nudged my head in her direction. Cloud looked round, he turned back   
to me rolled his eyes and made his way towards her.   
  
"You all right?" He asked. I watched her stand up.   
  
"Yeah: Well, the worst is over..." as soon as the words came out of her   
mouth we heard a noise... not a very pleasant one, god talk about the voice   
of doom!   
  
"Maybe not..." Aeris said. I readied myself and sure enough out came a   
monster. Fantastic, just great I thought as I looked at the ugly thing   
staring back at me. I really don't feel like fighting right now but no! A   
horrible ugly sewer monster has to come out and attack us! It was a wuss   
really, we had defeated it in no time, but it wasn't until then that I   
realised just how weak Aeris was, damn we didn't just have to look out for   
her, we had to protect her!   
  
I stood there at the end of the battle, the others were quiet, I could feel   
a lump in my throat... the Shinra were going to take away the closest thing   
I had to a family. First Sephiroth did, now they will... is it fate for me   
to be eternally unhappy.... unhappy and alone. I felt Cloud put his hand on   
my shoulder, but I was cold.   
  
"It's too late... Marlene... Barret... the people of the slums." I could   
hear my voice cracking with every word bringing me closer to tears. All my   
hard work to get the bar going, my friends, they were all I had left...   
  
"Don't give up. Never give up hope." I heard Aeris say. Her words were sweet   
but they were of little comfort. I don't think she understood that I had   
been following the policy of never give up all my life, and every time a   
window would open but just as I was about to go through it would close,   
right in my face! "It's not that easy to destroy the pillar, right?" She   
continued. Maybe not but they would find a way. I remembered how Barret had   
saved me from that guy... how he had let me join Avalanche and given me a   
home. How Biggs, Wedge, Jessie and Marlene had all taken care of me when   
Cloud was gone... Cloud.... his hand was still on my shoulder, his thumb   
gently rubbing up and down... I'm up against so much, but I have to try...   
they have done so much for me, maybe I can save them.   
  
"...Yeah... you're right! We still have time." I said. Cloud and Aeris   
smiled.   
We started to walk through the sewer. I said it before and I'll say it again   
; YUCK! The floor was wet and horrible. We eventually found a chute and I   
peered down it. "Are we going down? I asked Cloud, I suddenly realised how   
bad that sounded and put my head down blushing. He laughed and brushed a   
strand of hair away from across my face, he brought his face close to mine   
and whispered,   
  
"Only if you want to," I looked into his eyes, I wasn't in the mood for this   
right now but he just does something to me which makes me forget everything   
else.   
  
"What are you two whispering about?" Aeris asked. I turned to face her,   
  
"We're climbing down the chute." I said.   
  
"It looks a little dangerous" Aeris warned.   
  
"Don't worry, Tifa and I will use protection." Cloud said grinning.   
  
"What was that?" Aeris asked.   
  
"Nothing" Cloud and I said together. We looked at each other and smiled.   
  
"Great minds" Cloud said. I smiled at him... but we had to hurry,   
  
"Will you go first or shall I?" I asked.   
  
  
"I'll go." He said. "You follow then Aeris can follow you." We made our way   
down the chute, it was narrow and it stank! We finally dropped down... in   
another sewer. Terrific! We saw a ladder which appeared to be going up, we   
might have more luck with that. We made our way up. I took a deep breath. It   
was horrible down there. Mind you Midgar's air isn't that much better. We   
stood there for a minute.   
  
"Aeris, I got you mixed up in all of this..." Cloud began. I looked to Aeris   
who was shaking her head.   
  
"Don't tell me to go home." She said stubbornly. Cloud sighed and turned to   
face me, I looked at him for a minute then turned to see where we were. The   
train graveyard! Perfect. You can't get much closer than this.   
  
"Let's see..." I said "If we can just get past the trains that are lit up,   
we should be able to get out of here. We started on our walk. Aeris started   
going on about flowers or something but my mind started to wander and I   
couldn't help being scared... I wasn't scared for myself, I was scared for   
my friends... Stop it Tifa, stop thinking this way! It's all going to be ok.   
It will work out. How much bad luck can you have? But I couldn't help   
worrying, I even felt sick.   
  
Cloud was walking extremely close to me, we both had out hands by our sides   
and they kept brushing against each other. I didn't look at him, I just kept   
my eyes fixed to the floor. Our hands were right next to each other now, he   
then very slowly took hold of my hand, loosely at first but when he saw I   
didn't pull away his fingers tightened around mine. Now I looked up at him,   
he was looking ahead... having him hold my hand might seem insignificant,   
but it was such a big comfort. He looked down at me.   
  
"You ok?" He asked. I was silent for a minute.   
  
"Yeah." I said quietly. I was just going to pretend even to myself that   
everything was ok and there was no danger of my friends being killed and an   
entire village being killed just to get at me and my friends. We were going   
to get in there in time and stop them and it would be fine. I tightened my   
grip around Clouds hand,   
  
"I'll take that as a no then." He said quietly. "We might make it in time."   
He said gently, while stroking the palm of my hand with his index finger. I   
wanted to believe him. I just kept getting flash backs of what happened at   
Nibelheim, I couldn't bear the same thing happening again I just couldn't!   
  
"Cloud" I said quietly trying to blink back the tears. I put my other hand   
to my face, I wasn't going to cry I wasn't. He stopped.   
  
"Hey, that's not the Tifa I know..." He said, shocked.   
  
"It's too much, Cloud." I said as I felt a tear fall.   
  
"What is?" He asked looking down at me concern and confusion in his eyes.   
"What is Tifa..."   
  
"They're going to take it all away." I said, another teardrop fell and Cloud   
wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in close. "The bar...   
Avalanche... it's all I have left Cloud. I lost everything when Nibelheim   
was burnt down. Even you." I said. He held me tighter.   
  
"I'm here now." He said. "I won't leave you again... I... I promise." He   
said quietly I looked up at him and he brought his hand to my face and wiped   
the tears from my cheeks. "I promise" He repeated.   
  
"But the others?" I said.   
  
"Don't worry, if they want to break the support they will have to get   
through Barret first." Cloud said.   
  
"You're right" I said.   
  
"So we still have time. Ok?" He said smiling at me. I nodded. This time I   
did feel slightly better. Cloud took hold of my hand again and we started to   
walk. I looked over to see where Aeris was, she had just been stood in   
silence all this time. She was walking slightly behind looking at Cloud's   
hands and mine like she wanted to chop them off. I decided it best not to   
look at her.   
  
  
"You do realise that's two promises you owe me now Cloud Strife." I said   
teasing him.   
  
"Oh poor me having to never lose contact with a beautiful woman!" Cloud   
said. We both laughed and I could feel myself blush.   
  
I still didn't feel very comfortable, it had lessened but I still had that   
sick feeling in my stomach. We continued our journey mostly in silence,   
every now and again Cloud would stop to pick up something, and every now and   
again a monster would attack us. No problem, they were easy to fight but it   
did worry me the way we were being slowed down by them.   
We then came to a dead end. Misery filled me. We were so close…   
  
"Cloud..." I said turning to look at him, urgency filling my voice.   
  
"There must be a way..." he murmured quietly. I watched him enter the first   
train and drive it so it pushed another train, I could now see what he was   
doing.   
  
"Good idea Cloud." I said smiling. He then got into the other train and   
drove it so creating a path for us. We climbed onto the first train, jumped   
onto the next and walked right out of the train graveyard! That's another   
place I wasn't sad to see the back off. We then broke into a run.   
  
"We made it! The pillar's still standing!" I was so relieved to see it. We   
had a chance. We could save the sector. Cloud walked towards me and put his   
hand on my back.   
  
"Wait!" He said, I didn't like the tone of his voice, it worried me. "You   
hear something...above us?" Aeris ran towards us both.   
  
"... Gunfire?" she asked. I turned to face Cloud, was it Barret up there?   
Then we heard a thud! I slowly looked round to see Wedge on the floor...   
no…he hadn't just fallen from the plate! He could die! I ran towards him,   
the others following me. Cloud knelt down next to Wedge.   
  
"Wedge!!" Cloud said shock in his voice. "You all right!?" I thought it was   
pretty obvious he was NOT all right but I guess Cloud was in shock.   
  
"...Cloud..." He could hardly speak, it scared me. He looked like he really   
was about to die. "You remembered... my name. Barret's up top... help   
him..." Cloud nodded. I could feel myself shaking. It had already started.   
"And Cloud...Sorry, I wasn't any help." I looked at Cloud who just shook his   
head and stood up. He turned to face me.   
  
"I'm going up!" He told me. "Aeris! You look after Wedge." Aeris nodded.   
Cloud's voice had become commanding, like a leader's. Cloud took hold of my   
hand and started to walk to the plate when I stopped him. I suddenly   
remembered... Marlene! What if we couldn't stop the plate from falling! I   
turned to Aeris.   
  
"Aeris, do me a favour. I have a bar called '7th Heaven' in this   
neighbourhood. There's a little girl called Marlene there..." Aeris nodded.   
  
"Don't worry. I'll put her somewhere safe." She promised. I smiled   
gratefully. It suddenly dawned on me that there was a huge crowd around us.   
So many people could die... I turned to them and raised my voice.   
  
"It's dangerous here! Everyone get away from the pillar, quickly! Everyone   
get away from sector 7!" I must have had some command in my voice as they   
scattered. I just prayed they would listen to me. Cloud then took hold of my   
hand and we started to make our way up the stairs to the top of the plate.   
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Cloud and I started to make our way up the metal steps, which made a horrible clanging sound when you stepped on them. I kept tight hold of Cloud's hand. I was glad he was with me, doing this with him was scary enough but without would have been worse. We hadn't gone far when we came across Biggs. He was injured pretty badly. I felt myself go numb. This was all too familiar. He looked up at Cloud and said weakly,  
"So you don't care what happens to the planet..." How very like Biggs... still able to be light hearted in the worst of situations.   
"You're wounded..." Cloud said gently.   
"Thanks, Cloud... and don't worry about me... Barret's..." He was really struggling to talk by now and I wondered anxiously just how badly he was hurt. I put my other hand on his shoulder. "Fighting up there. Go help him..." He looked at me weakly and managed to wink. I forced a smile and Cloud, still holding onto my hand gently pulled me on. I felt like my heart was being torn to shreds. I didn't think I could take much more.   
"You ok?" Cloud asked without looking at me. I didn't answer, somehow not talking made it less real. "I know what you're thinking," he said still not looking at me, "this is pretty much like what happened back at home." He read my mind. I still didn't answer. I couldn't, I just wanted to stop. I didn't want to see what other horrors awaited me at the top of these stairs. I felt like I was on some sort of journey to hell. "This time it's going to be different." Cloud continued."   
"How?" I managed to say. He turned to look at me but we still carried on with our quick pace up the stairs.   
"I won't lose you this time." He said. His hand tightened round mine as the words came out.   
"I hope not Cloud," I said quietly. That was the last thing I wanted. The feeling of sickness had increased and the stairs felt like they were going on forever. We then came across Jessie.   
"Cloud..." She said. "I'm glad... I could talk with you... one last time." My heart shattered. What was worse than dying like this? KNOWING you are just going to die on some cold hard stairs with no one with you? I started to shake, wanting to turn away but unable.   
"Don't say last..." Cloud tried to comfort her but she cut him off.   
"That's all right... because of our actions... many people died... this probably... is our punishment." Cloud turned to me. I started right through him. I just couldn't take my eyes off her. We were fighting to save the planet and the people on it. Doesn't that cancel out all that? Was this some wicked punishment? Did we deserve it? Cloud put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me with him.   
"Come on Tifa." He said quietly. He was gently pulling me away but I couldn't help looking back at her. "You have to be confident Tifa." Cloud said. "You have to be or you will never win." I looked up at him.   
"I know... but..." He put his finger to my lip.   
"No buts. I'm here for you, but you have to be strong, okay?" I nodded.   
"I've come through worse than this." I said. He then shocked me by kissing my cheek. I looked at him startled and he looked pretty surprised with himself, he started to scratch the back of his head looking down.   
I felt like the kiss had given me more confidence, I felt stronger. I HAD to be stronger.   
We finally made it to the top and saw Barret. He turned to see us and his eyes lit up.   
"Tifa! Cloud! You came!" 'Of course we did, as if we would abandon you.' I said inside me. His face grew serious. "Be careful! They're attacking from the helicopter." He warned.   
"Better equip ourselves before they attack full force!" I said. Cloud passed us each some materia and we were ready. The helicopter came closer.   
"Here they come!" Barret yelled. The helicopter hovered above us for a second, then a figure jumped out. I gasped at who it was. I couldn't believe my eyes. I checked again. Yes I would know that bright red hair and those piercing blue eyes anywhere. Reno! He looked at me and smiled, his grin was evil. I knew Reno, he used to come to my bar all the time. We would talk, and when he wasn't drunk he wasn't so bad. I enjoyed his company, he was much more intelligent than the other nobodies who would come to my bar expecting to find the answers to their problems in the bottom of a glass. To be honest I did have a slight crush on him. It was just a crush though. He was smart, mysterious, and so good looking. I never acted on it despite him asking me out a few times (I wasn't even sure if it was the booze talking or him). I had always held onto the thought of Cloud coming back to me. I turned to look at Cloud and was suddenly so glad that I had waited. Reno had only stopped coming to my bar recently. He had said he had got himself a new job, but couldn't tell me about it.   
"Might drop in and see ya sometime babe." He had said. I was sad for a bit. I did miss his company. Instead I had guys like the one who tried to kill me trying to talk to me with all their pathetic chat up lines. I couldn't believe Reno had joined the Turks! We were enemies now. This was just getting worse and worse. I just wanted to curl up and disappear. Life was far too cruel.   
"You're too late." He said looking at me. It looked like our old friendship (if you can call it that) meant nothing to him. "Once I push this button..." As he spoke I watched in horror as he pressed the button. No! He can't! He can't just kill all these people, just like that. I felt so helpless. I turned to Cloud and Barret.   
"We have to disarm it!" I said desperation in my voice. "Cloud! Barret! Please!" I begged.   
"I can't have you do that." I turned to be met by Reno's evil grin as he pulled out his weapon. "No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks..." He said. We started to fight. I couldn't believe this, a few weeks ago we were friends, now we were literally trying to kill each other. There was nothing I could do. I had no choice. He only hit me once, but I hit him more than once, I couldn't help it, every time I hit him I felt pain myself. This wasn't right! Suddenly he stopped fighting, and looked at his watch "It's time." He said calmly. He waved and winked at me. I stood there watching him horrified. He ran passed me and as he did he took hold of me and spun me around. I suddenly felt really dizzy as well as sick. I couldn't believe it. Here we were with the fate of the lives of a whole sector of people in our hands and he wanted to play stupid games! When I got myself together I ran to the controls. I looked at the control panel. Jessie had taught me how to disarm many different kinds of bombs, but this one was different. I tried everything I knew and some things I didn't know. Nothing was happening, and I could feel panic filling me. I felt a hand rest on my back. I turned to see Cloud stood by my side.   
"Cloud! I don't know how to stop this." I said my voice and body visibly shaking. "Try it!" I asked. Cloud stared thoughtfully at the panel and tried a few things.   
"...It's not a normal time bomb." Could said. He also sounded worried now. Almost as soon as the words came out of his mouth a wind picked up. My hair was being blown about my face and I had to hold onto my skirt to stop it from blowing up. I could also hear a deafening noise. I looked up to see another helicopter. It was hovering above us now.   
"That's right. You'll have a hard time disarming that!" I looked up to see where the voice had come from. The owner of the voice stood in the helicopter. He had hair almost as long as mine and was also dressed in the Turks uniform. "It'll blow the second some stupid jerk touches it." I ran up to the helicopter. I knew I couldn't stop the bomb.   
"Please, stop it!" I pleaded with the man. He just laughed at me.   
"Ha ha ha... Only a Shinra Executive can set up or disarm the Emergency Plate Release System." He said looking down at me. I felt so useless, like I had let the whole of sector 7 down. Barret pointed his gun at the helicopter.   
"Shut yer hole!" He said before beginning to fire.   
"I wouldn't try that..." The man said calmly. I didn't like the tone of his voice. "You just might make me injure our special guest." I looked to where he was pointing. Horror filled me. Why is it that whenever you thought things couldn't get any worse they always somehow do?!   
"Aeris!!" I screamed.   
"Oh, you know each other? How nice you could see each other one last time. You should thank me." I hated his laid back attitude. He just didn't care about anything, except his job!   
"What are you going to do with Aeris!?" Cloud asked with a puzzled tone.   
"I haven't decided." He said in the same cool tone. "Our orders were to find and catch the last remaining Ancient. It's taken us a long time, but now I can finally report this to the president." He said smirking. I was filled with shock and anger, I didn't know what to do.   
"Tifa," Aeris called to me "don't worry! She's all right!" To my horror the man then hit Aeris. It's not right to hit someone so much weaker than you, no matter how annoying they are. How can he call himself a man? I heard myself scream "Aeris!"   
"Hurry and get out!" she warned me.   
"Ha, ha, ha... Well it should be starting right about now. Think you can escape in time?" Our new 'friend' asked as the helicopter flew off. Just as he was leaving, explosions started to shake the plate. I really panicked, this couldn't be the end! I looked over to Cloud as if he might have the answer because I certainly didn't.   
"Yo, we can use this wire to swing out." I looked over to Barret, relief washed over me, we might just make it. All that seemed to run through me was the will to live, to survive. I took hold of the wire and so did Cloud. With that we swung out of sector 7. I could hear explosions and feel the heat of the flames, but I didn't look back, I couldn't look back...   



	6. Chapter 6

"Marlene!" Barret screamed. I watched him bang his fists against the rubble blocking the way into sector 7.  
  
"Hey Barret" Cloud said softly.  
  
"Barret" I said. I could feel tears streaming down my face. I felt numb and confused, like I was in some sort of dream.  
  
"ARGGHHH!!" Barret started to scream. Fear filled me I had never seen him like this before. Cloud and I ran up to him.  
  
"Hey!" Cloud said. It was obvious he had about as much of an idea of what to do as I did.  
  
"Barret, stop... please stop, Barret." I said gently. I knew him doing this was not going to help but he had other ideas.  
  
"URGHHH!!!" He screamed. I watched in horror as he started to shoot the rubble. "God damn..." He shouted. I wanted to stop him but I felt Clouds hands rest on my shoulders, I turned around to face him as he took my hand and started to gently pull me away from Barret.  
  
"I know you want to help him Tifa, but we can't do anything for him right now, just let him get it all out." He said. I nodded weakly and let Cloud lead me to the middle of the playground. We both sat down as I covered my face with my hands and cried. I could feel my body shaking. This was all so much to take in. EVERYONE was gone.... maybe I'm cursed. Cloud put his arm around me and pulled me in close. I cried harder and he wrapped both his arms around me and held me tight. I did the same...  
  
... we stayed like that for a long time, just holding each other, not saying anything. I finally looked up at him. He was staring off into the distance with a serious look on his face.  
  
"Cloud?" I said quietly. He looked down at me, his gaze softening when meeting mine.  
  
"Yes?" He said as he brought his hand up to my cheek and wiped a tear away.  
  
"What are we going to do?" I asked. "What's going to happen now?"  
  
"Don't worry about that right now." Cloud said, "We have been through a lot today." We both turned around at the sound of footsteps behind us. Barret came and sat down with us. I watched him cover his face with his hand. I had never seen him like this. Barret had always been so strong.  
  
"Marlene..." I heard him whisper. So many things had been going through my mind, this was all too much to take on but one thing stuck harder than anything else, Aeris' last words to me. I had been replaying them in my mind...  
  
"Tifa, don't worry! She's all right!" Could she have meant... or was I hoping?  
  
"... Barret...? Marlene is... I think Marlene is safe." I said. Barret lifted his head.  
  
"Huh?" I started to explain.  
  
"Right before they took Aeris she said 'She's all right', she was probably talking about Marlene." Barret actually half smiled. I, on the other hand, could not be happy. Not with what was on my mind. I tried to explain.  
  
"But..." I started but Barret seemed to read my mind.  
  
"Biggs, Wedge, Jessie..." He said.  
  
"All three of them were in the pillar." Cloud continued.  
  
"Think I don't know that?" Barret said with anger returning to his voice. "But... we. all of us fought together. I don't wanna think of them as dead."  
  
"... and all the other people in sector 7." I said.  
  
"This is all screwed up!" Barret said. Funny that's just what I was thinking.  
  
"They destroyed an entire village just to get to us! They killed so many people..." Barret's words echoed my thoughts. I felt the tears start to fall down my cheeks again... what had we done?  
  
"... Are you saying it's our fault?" I said between sobs. "Because Avalanche was here? Innocent people lost their lives because of us?" That was what I felt. What other explanation was there? If we had done nothing then none of this would have happened. Not for the first time in my life I started to wish Sephiroth had killed me.  
  
"No, Tifa!" I looked up at Barret surprised. " That ain't it! Hell no!!" It ain't us! It's that damn Shinra! It's never been nobody but the Shinra! They're evil and destroyin our planet just to... build their power and line their own damn pockets with gold! If we don't get rid of them, they're gonna kill the planet! Our fight ain't never gonna be over until we get rid of them!" What he said made sense, but I couldn't help it. Yes they were the ones who dropped the plate... but if we had never been there.  
  
"... I don't know." I said shaking my head.  
  
"What don't you know?!" Barret asked. "You don't believe me?" I looked up at Barret, his eyes were pleading with me. He needed me right now... but I couldn't lie.  
  
"It's not that." I tried to explain. " I'm not sure about... me. My feelings." Barret sighed and turned to look at Cloud who had by now stood up. He was standing with his back to us, his arms crossed. Something was bothering him.  
  
"An what about you?" Barret asked.  
  
"..." Cloud didn't say anything and started to walk away.  
  
"Yo! Where's he think he's goin?" I thought. Then it hit me.  
  
"Oh! Aeris!" I had forgotten, with everything going on, we needed to help her. She had helped with the Don, Cloud and I owed her. Barret interrupted my thoughts.  
  
"Oh yeah, that girl. What's up with her?" Good question. She had seemed strange to me but how was she mixed up in Shinra?  
  
"... I don't really know... But she's the one I left Marlene with." I said.  
  
"Damn! Marlene!" Barret shouted. He turned to look at me his face serious.  
  
"Tifa, there ain't no turnin' back now." His words were harsh but true. I was right in the middle of this, there was no way I could just walk away now. I watched him run after Cloud. I got up and started to follow, but I stopped. I looked back at where sector 7 used to be. I was scared, very scared. My life was about to change in a big way, and I knew it. I blinked back tears and ran after them my heart beating fast.  
  
By the time I caught them up Barret had caught up with Cloud.  
  
"Cloud take me to Marlene!" It sounded more like an order than a request and Cloud would be foolish to say no. I approached Cloud and put my hand on his arm.  
  
"You're going to help Aeris?" I asked. Cloud put his hand on mine and held it tight.  
  
"Yeah..." He said. "But before that, there's something I want to know."  
  
"What's that?" I asked.  
  
"... It's about the Ancients. Sephiroth...?" That name made me shudder. I watched in horror as Cloud fell to the floor clutching his head.  
  
"Are you all right?" I asked panicking.  
  
"Pull it together, man!" Barret said harshly. I could tell he badly wanted to see Marlene and the physical condition of Cloud was of no importance to him right now.  
  
Cloud slowly stood up. I took hold of his arm to steady him. He looked at me, my face must have told him I was worried.  
  
"I'm okay." He said. "Don't worry." I shook my head, how could I not worry. "Marlene will probably be at Aeris' house. We can go check there." He said.  
  
We made our way in silence. Every time we passed a monster or thief we easily killed them. Cloud kept hold of my hand but kept his eyes fixed ahead. Barret walked beside me occasionally telling us to hurry.  
  
We moved fast, and eventually, Cloud led us down a side street. As I stood in front of the house I gasped.  
  
"Aeris lives here?" I asked. "No one in the slums lives in a place half as good as this... how can she afford it?" I asked looking up at Cloud. He just shook his head.  
  
"I don't know... she sells flowers." He said as if trying to convince himself.  
  
"Flowers?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "Is that a euphemism?"  
  
"No.... they are a gill each." He said still sounding very unsure.  
  
"Must sell a hell of a lot of flowers then." murmured Barret. "Business must be big, we all know how people of the slums love... flowers."  
  
"Come on, lets go in" I said quickly, wanting to change the subject. Whatever dirty things this girl did in her spare time was nothing to do with me. "Will anyone be in?" I asked.  
  
"Yes... her mother should be there." said Cloud. Still holding my hand with his right hand he brought up his left hand and knocked on the door. 


	7. Chapter 7

We waited... no answer. A little uncertain of what to do Cloud knocked again. Once more there was no answer. He looked at me, I got into my fighting stance and very carefully he turned the handle and slowly opened the door with one hand on the handle and the other on his sword. Once we could see inside the house we both relaxed. There was one woman stood in the middle of the room. She had her back to us but turned around in shock. She looked at Cloud, then me, then Barret then back at Cloud. I noticed her eyes were red from crying. She pulled herself together rather quickly and her expression went from shock to cold.   
"Cloud... wasn't it?" She said coolly looking him up and down, "it's about Aeris, isn't it?" She asked but it didn't sound like a question. I assumed this was Aeris' mother. I turned to look at Cloud who looked very un comfortable, he scratched the back of his head and looked at the floor. My every instinct told me to comfort him but I stayed where I was.   
"Sorry. The Shinra have taken her." He said quietly still not looking at her. The woman turned her back to us sharply.   
"I know. They took her from here." She said, still with no emotion in her voice. Cloud looked extremely confused and I was to, I had assumed they had taken her on the way to her house.   
"They were here?" Cloud asked. New thoughts suddenly dawned on me, if the Shinra had come to her house it meant they were after Aeris specifically... but why?   
All eyes were on the woman, she turned to face us. "That's what Aeris wanted..." her voice broke, she put her right hand over her moth as tears started to stream from her eyes. As she sobbed quietly I could feel tears stinging my own eyes. This woman had lost her daughter... but no I had to keep it together. I wasn't usually this weak, this wasn't like me at all.   
After a pause Cloud stepped towards the woman.   
"Why is Shinra after Aeris?" he asked. The woman turned away from us again, wiping her tears away. When she eventually spoke her voice was quiet,   
"Aeris is an Ancient. The sole survivor." I gasped not believing what I had just heard. An Ancient... Aeris... it couldn't be. I had heard of these people, their powers, there was no way... or was there? Barret stepped towards her, a look of disbelief on his face.   
"... what did you say? But, aren't you her mother?" The woman shook her head.   
"Not her real mother. Oh... it must have been 15 years ago..." We all listened in silence to her story... I couldn't believe what I was hearing.   
When she had finished we stood there everyone pondering their own thoughts. Cloud was the first to speak.   
"It's amazing how shes avoided the Shinra for all these years..." He said,   
"The Shinra needed her, so I guess they wouldn't harm her." The woman said quietly.   
"But why now...?" I asked, it didn't make sense, she avoids them all this time yet they manage to capture her now? The woman looked up at me.   
"She brought a little girl with her. On the way here Tseng found them. She probably couldn't get away fast enough. She decided to go to the Shinra in exchange for the little girls safety." Marline was safe! Relief washed over me. Cloud turned to me and also gave a half smile.   
Tseng... he must have been the man in the helicopter. He was dressed in the Turks uniform but he had never come to my bar before like Reno and Rude had. I was pretty sure I would be seeing him again soon.   
"Must be Marline." Cloud said.   
"Marline!!" Barret shouted in joy but after a few seconds his face fell, "Aeris was caught because of Marline?!" Aeris' mother looked down, Barret stepped towards her a look of guilt on his face. "I'm sorry. Marline is my daughter. I'm... really... sorry...." The woman looked Barret in the eye, anger in her face.   
"You're her father?! How in the world could you ever leave a child like that?!" She said glaring at him. Rage filled me. How dare she talk to him like that. She had no idea who Barret was or what he did. If he didn't do the work he did now there would be no planet for Marline to live on by the time she was older. It took all my restraint not to kick the crap out of her there and then.   
Poor Barret started justifying himself to this woman to whom he really owed no explanation. I knew he was a good father this woman didn't have a clue about him. Why should her opinion matter to him? I guess Barret felt guilty, it must be so damn hard...   
I felt a hand on my back, I turned around and it was Cloud.   
"Are you ok?" He asked me quietly as Barret and the woman talked. I nodded and faked a small smile. Cloud didn't look satisfied but I turned to look at the woman who was still talking to Barret.   
"I think I understand what your saying..." She said "she's upstairs asleep, why don't you go see her." A look of joy filled Barret's face as he ran up the stairs. My eyes followed him as he climbed up the stair case. When he vanished a hundred thoughts filled my head, mainly thoughts of guilt. Cloud turned back to me and put his hand under my chin, he gently tilted my face up to look at him.   
"Tifa?" He said a look of concern in his face.   
"It's my fault..." I said feeling the tears building up again, "I was the one who got Aeris involved in this." I said close to tears. Cloud shook his head but before he had a chance to speak Aeris' mother did.   
"Don't say that Aeris doesn't think that." she said softly. I took Cloud's hand and moved it down but still keeping hold of it, I could feel his fingers tighten around mine but I kept my eyes fixed on the floor.   
"I feel so depressed." I whispered. We stayed like that for a while, eventually I moved away and sat down on the nearest chair. I felt a mixture of exhaustion, sorrow and guilt. I watched Cloud pace the room a few times a thoughtful look on his face then he made his way up stairs. Going to see Barret and Marline sounded like a good idea, plus I thought there might be somewhere I could lie down upstairs, I was exhausted and starting to feel a little dizzy. I slowly made my way half way up the stairs when I heard voices, I paused to listen.   
"Guess what? Guess what??" It was Marlines voice, thank God she was safe. "Aeris was asking me lots of questions . Like what kind of person Cloud is." My heart started beating faster and I felt like the stairs were moving under my feet. "I bet she likes you, Cloud." I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my heart... what if he liked her too, Cloud, my Cloud... I love him, I need to tell him. I went to climb up another step but everything started spinning. I clutched onto the rail trying to balance myself.   
"I don't know." was Cloud's emotionless reply... I felt relived but so dizzy. I held on tight to the railing and kept repeating the words 'I'm ok, I'm ok, I'm ok" in my head, but I was far from ok.   
"Stupid!" Came Marline's voice. I was the stupid one, what if he falls in love with her...   
Cloud turned around to go back downstairs when he saw me.   
"Tifa, what's wrong?" He said as he came down a few steps and put his hands on my shoulders. I couldn't talk and I was finding it nearly impossible to keep my eyes open. I collapsed in his arms but I was still vaguely conscious. "Tifa?!" Cloud said shocked. He kept hold of me for a few seconds then carefully lifted me up and carried me up the stairs. Next thing I knew I was lay down on the bed and Clouds face slowly faded away.   
  
Darkness surrounded me, I looked all around me for some sort light but there was nothing.   
"How could you let a stranger get involved?" The voice came from no where.   
"I didn't think!" I said. "I thought Cloud and I could look after her." I said trying to defend myself.   
"Fine job you did of that." The voice said dripping with sarcasm. "And now the last surviving Ancient may die and it's all YOUR fault!"   
"No! I didn't make her come! She wanted to." I said. Suddenly fire sprung up in a circle around me... "No!" I screamed as I felt the heat of the flames, "Not again." I curled up on the floor wanting to die.   
"Where is your hero now? He is not going to save you this time because he has someone else now. Maybe someone who can be HONEST with him" I could feel the smoke choking me as tears streamed down my face.   
"No..." I whispered. "I don't understand myself... how can I explain it to him?"  
  
"Tifa, please wake up." I opened my eyes, the light hurt them. I could make out the shape of Cloud's face hovering above me and I could feel his hand on my right cheek.   
"Cloud?" I whispered, "Don't let it happen again Cloud, don't leave me again" I said, once more there was darkness...   
  
...I opened my eyes and stared at the white ceiling. Where was I? Oh that's right, Aeris' house. The bed was so soft, I hadn't slept in a real bed for so long. I didn't want to get up but I had the feeling I wasn't alone. I sat up and looked around the room. It was a small room with pink and white wallpaper. In the corner, sitting on a chair was Cloud, fast asleep. I smiled to myself, he looked so peaceful. I wasn't quite sure what had happened to me, it was hard to believe only yesterday the plate fell. Cloud stirred interrupting my thoughts.   
"Cloud?" I said. He opened his eyes, he looked at me with his shining azure eyes and my heart fluttered. 'I love you' were the only words running through my head.   
"Your awake" he said smiling. He came over to me and sat on the bed beside me.   
"How are you feeling?" He said a look of concern in his eyes.   
"I'm fine, I'm so sorry Cloud I must have scared you." I said. I really did feel stupid.   
"It's ok," He said "Yesterday was too much for any of us to take." I couldn't help it, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight. He seemed surprised at first and didn't react but slowly he wrapped his arms around me, he held me tighter and we stayed like that for some time. 'I love you so much' I thought to myself.   
"Tifa..." Cloud said quietly.   
"Tifa! How are you feeling?" Barret said as he came into the room. Cloud and I let go of each other. Cloud stood up and turned his back to us scratching the back of his head. Barret seemed totally oblivious to what he had interrupted (as usual). He sat on the bed where Cloud had been sat. "How are you feeling?" He asked again.   
"I'm fine." I said smiling.   
"I brought some cure materia," He said to me as he put his hand on my forehead.   
"I swear I'm ok." I said smiling. I think it was just exhaustion and stress. He didn't look convinced and cast a cure spell on me. I smiled at him as the cure spell washed over me and any pain in my body vanished.   
"Thank you." I said. You can use magic really well now. I said as I took the shining yellow cure materia in my hand. Barret smiled modestly.   
"So are ya gonna stay here with Marline?" I shook my head as I handed the materia back and Barret laughed. "Sorry, stupid question." He said "I'll let you get some rest tough girl." He said as he got up and left. I noticed Cloud was also gone. I got out of bed, all I knew was I wanted to be besides Cloud no matter what. I made my way down stairs and he was already walking towards the door.   
"You're going after Aeris, right?" I said as I walked towards him. He stopped and turned to face me.   
"Yeah" he said.   
"I'm coming with you." I said. He looked relived for a second then a look of concern crossed his face.  
"We're going right into Shinra HQ... you gotta be prepared for the worst." I knew that, I was strong. I had come through worse than this. I survived at the hands of Sephiroth, compared to him Shinra really didn't look all that scary.   
"I know." I said calmly. "Right now, I feel I have to push myself to the limit. If I stayed here... I'll go crazy." Cloud smiled at me. I turned around at the sound of thundering footsteps as Barret came down the stairs. He turned to Aeris' mother who I had just realised was in the room. She was cleaning the table and looked up when he spoke to her.   
"Sorry, but can you take care of Marline a bit longer?" He said looking slightly embarrassed to be asking.   
"Yes, I don't mind." She said with no emotion in her voice.   
"This place is dangerous now. You better go somewhere else." Barret said. I nodded my head in agreement but she didn't seem to hear him. She was silent for some time.   
"... Don't die." She said in a voice that was just above a whisper. We all exchanged glances and left the house.   
A cold breeze hit my face as I stepped outside. I couldn't believe we were finally going to brake into Shinra HQ. A week ago we were working on a master plan to get past security so we could bomb the place, but a thought occurred to me.   
"How do we get to the Shinra building?" I asked.   
"There ain't no train that goes up there anymore." Said Barret. I thought for a few moments.   
"... Well, let's just go to the Wall Market. We might be able to find something there." I said. The Don or one of his men would certainly know how to get there. Cloud did not look to happy at the idea of going back to the place where he had dressed up as a girl but seeing how we had no other plan we started heading in that direction anyway. Barret was walking ahead rather quickly, I guessed he was very eager to save Aeris. She had saved his daughter's life after all.   
Cloud walked beside me.   
"Are you sure you're feeling ok?" He asked looking very worried.   
"Don't worry about me." I said looking up at him and smiling. "You know I can take care of myself." He smiled back and took hold of my hand squeezing it gently.   
"I won't leave you again Tifa, you have me to look after you now." I looked up at him and shook my head, a smile on my face.   
"No Cloud, we look after each other." 


	8. Chapter 8

The walk to the wall market had been a quick one. As we climbed the 'golden shiny wire of hope' as Barret had called it I paused for a moment and looked at the destruction beneath me at the place that was once sector 7. The only way to get through it was to simply not think, but it was hard. It was also hard work climbing above the plate to get to Shinra HQ but Cloud, Barret and I were strong and lately I had been training a lot more than usual. Now all three of us were stood in front of the Shinra building looking up at it, a part of me was scared but another part of me was getting a rush out of this. Finally I was going to fight the ones who had brought me so much misery, the people killing the planet. I was going to fight the people who formed SOLDIER and had taken Cloud away. The people under whom Sephiroth had worked. The man whom in one night destroyed my entire life. Something must have happened to him that night to make him go insane... I always wanted to know why. Maybe my answer was in this building. To me this wasn't just about rescuing Aeris, this was about revenge. "I heard about this place before." Barret said, "Every floor above the 60th is special and not easy to get to even for employees." He paused for thought, "Must be where they took Aeris." He said looking down. After another pause he looked up and smiled "The security's pretty light now. Awright, let's go!!" He said in a raised voice and ran towards the door. "Wait a second!" I shouted in shock. "Your not thinking of just going right through the main entrance, are you?" I said. I was worried now. This was Shinra HQ! We couldn't just walk in and say 'Give Aeris back please thank you have a nice day.' "Well what else does it look like!? I'm gonna kick some Shirna butt and..." "That's not going to work!" I said harshly "We've got to find another way..." I said decisively. Barret took a step towards me. "Ain't gonna be no other way! If we keep wastin' time like this, Aeris'll..." "I know that!" I shouted not even wanting to consider the fact that we may be to late. I took a steady step towards him, "But if we get caught here..." Uh what was I doing?! I'm a fighter and I wanted to attack these people... I guess I was just trying to be careful. I really had no idea what to expect. Then a thought struck me, why not let Cloud decide? I turned to him, he had been watching Barret and I fight in silence. "Hey, Cloud... What should we do?" I asked him. He looked surprised at first then thought for a moment. A smile crossed his lips. "Let's bust on in!" He said. I smiled and shook my head and he smiled back. 'This could be fun.' I secretly thought. "That's more like it! C'mon, let's go!!" Barret shouted as he ran ahead. Cloud and I ran after him. "Excuse me!" We all stopped dead at the sound of the receptionist's voice. "If you don't have an appointment, you'll just have to..." But Barret cut her off. "Don't need no appointment.... This is a 'mergency!" He said and I couldn't help but smile. "Anyone who don't wanna get their faces bashed in better git outta the way!!" He said looking around menacingly. Of course there were the foolish guards who tried to fight us. I have to admit it was fun. I love fighting, I was the best in my class back at Nibblehime, my teacher said I had a natural talent... damn I missed him. He wasn't just a teacher he was my mentor and had saved my life on more than one occasion. We carried on fighting, making our way up the floors when finally we got to the 64th floor that appeared to be a gym. We walked into what appeared to be a rest room. There were mattresses on the floor and one man was asleep in the corner. Cloud turned to me, "Do you want to rest?" He asked me. "Just for a moment," I said. I looked at his arm "your bleeding!" I said alarmed. Cloud just smiled. "It's nothing Tifa," he said. I wouldn't hear if it being nothing and got out my cure materia. I took hold of his arm and started casting the spell. He watched me with his bright blue eyes and brought his other hand round putting it on my cheek. I looked up at him then looked back down at the wound blushing. He rubbed my cheek with his thumb as he spoke. "I hope you're not mad at me for deciding to bust in." He said, I smiled without looking up. "No, I think it was better this way." I said, "I was just being careful but there is nothing here we can't handle... your arms better" I looked up at him, he took his hand from my cheek and ran it over the spot where the wound had once been. "Thanks," he said smiling gratefully at me. "Yo! Let's get going," Barret said as he got up from a mattress and made his way to the door. We ran out of the room and made our way to the next floor. If all the battles were like this we will have rescued Aeris and got out of here in no time!  
  
'Caught! I can't believe they got us!' I thought to myself as I lay on the cell bed looking at the gray ceiling. Bloody Turks! Only time they ever decided to do their job right was when we were in the building, and I'm sure one of them kept looking at my ass! What was his name? I think it was Rude, I remembered he used to come with Reno to my bar occasionally. I also had the 'pleasure' of meeting Tseng again who was just as lovely as the last time we met. I looked up at Cloud who was pacing the room deep in his thoughts.  
  
"Psst. Can we get out?" I whispered quietly, afraid the guards would hear us. Cloud stopped and turned to look at me. He stopped in front of me and looked me up and down for a few moments not saying anything then he put his hand on mine, which was resting on my stomach. "Leave it to me" he whispered back looking very confidant. I smiled and felt re assured. There was always a way and I was sure he would find it. He let go of my hand and started pacing the room again. "Psst. Cloud, you're so brave!" I whispered. He blushed and I couldn't believe what I had just said! I sounded like such a lovesick schoolgirl, I could feel myself start to blush. Ummmm the ceiling, concentrate on the ceiling. Everything was silent but I could hear Barret's mumblings, telling me he was in the next room. "Cloud, are you there?" The voice came from the next cell and made both Cloud and I jump in shock. I knew straight away it was Aeris' voice. "Aeris!? You safe?" Cloud asked sounding a mixture of shock and relief. "Yeah, I'm all right." She said. "I knew that Cloud would come for me." She said in a confidant tone. I bit my lip. "Hey, I'm your bodyguard, right?" Cloud said shrugging his shoulders. That hurt me, Cloud was supposed to be my hero... was I being selfish? "The deal was for one date, right?" She said. I sat up shocked, at the same time Cloud turned to look at me but I stared straight at the wall. Date? He was going to go on a date with this girl yet it had never been mentioned to me... I could have sworn at that moment I felt my heard brake.  
  
"............Oh, I get it." I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "...!? Tifa! Tifa, you're there too!" Aeris' voice came out shocked. The little bitch! Was she going to try to seduce the man I loved while pretending to be my friend?! Thank God I had heard this. Perhaps Cloud wasn't even worthy of my love! I could feel tears stinging my eyes but I blinked them all away. I knew Cloud was watching me and I would not let him see me cry over him, not after this. "EXCUSE me." I said my voice furious but then I stopped myself. I was leaving my feelings wide open for everyone to see, I had to be more careful. Why should I flatter Cloud by getting hysterical over him when he was arranging dates with other girls?! Besides who the hell was this girl anyway? She just appeared in our lives claiming to be an Ancient. I stood up my body slightly shaking. "You know, Aeris, I have a question." I said my voice still steady. "What?" Aeris said, from her tone I could tell she was worried. "Does the Promised Land really exist?" I asked. "...I don't know." She said sounding a little relived that was all I asked her. "All I know is..." she continued, "The Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet. And....... then...... The Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness." She said. It sounded like a load of rehearsed crap to me. She really hadn't told me anything at all. "...What does that mean?" I asked her, slight irritation in my voice. "More than words...... I don't know." She said. How convenient, I thought to myself. It was clear this girl had no idea about her heritage and it was more likely that Hojo who was not an Ancient himself knew more than her. "...Speak with the Planet?" Cloud asked. Still avoiding looking at him I lay back down on the bed and starred at the ceiling trying to block out any thoughts, it was taking all my effort to hold back my tears. I needed to distract myself. "Just what does the Planet say?" I asked. "It's full of people and noisy. That's why I can't make out what they're saying." Aeris said. Hmmmm it's probably because she's only half Ancient, I thought to myself. "You hear it now?" Cloud asked his voice full of curiosity and I felt the pain in my heart increase. "I, I only heard it at the Church in the Slums. Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is.... my real mother." Aeris answered, her voice was quiet now. "Someday I'll get out of Midgar... Speak with the Planet and find my Promised Land...That's what mom said." Her voice was gradually getting quieter and quieter until I could barely hear her. "I thought I would stop hearing her voice as I grew up, but...." Aeris cut of and silence followed for some time. Cloud broke it. "Let's just get some sleep" He said as he leaned against the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the floor opposite me. I glanced over at him and he was watching me, I turned my head away so I was looking at the wall beside me. I couldn't bear to look at him right now. The lights suddenly began to dim until they were out all together. I guessed the Shinra didn't want to waste money on giving light to our prison cell. ... It was dark now, only now, when no one could see would I allow my tears to fall. I could feel my body shaking as I cried trying hard not to make a noise but I couldn't help it. The tears were coming down to violently and my whole body was shaking like never before. Cloud... how could he... "Tifa," It was Clouds voice, I heard footsteps but I couldn't see a thing. Straight away I started wiping the tears from my cheeks but more fell. I sat up not wanting to talk to him. I had to get away but immediately I felt two hands on my shoulders stopping me from moving. Cloud's eyes must have got used to the dark faster than mine. "Don't get up," he whispered. I stayed silent, I had nothing to say to him. "Tifa? Are you crying?" He asked, his voice was soft but only silence followed. "Are you angry with me?" He eventually asked. "Stupid question," I murmured quietly. "What did you say?" he asked, I could now make out he was bending down so his face was at the same level as mine. I didn't answer him and looked away from him. "Tifa...?" He said, his voice confused and there was a slight hint of desperation. I once again tried to get up but this time he pushed me down so I was lying down on the bed. I put my hands to his chest to push him of me but I felt so weak. He took hold of my hands and pinned them down above my head. Suddenly his face was so close to mine I could feel his breath, he was breathing heavily and when he spoke his voice come out in a whisper but was full of distress. "Don't do this to me Tifa! Don't do this! I need you!" I was so confused, why was he being like this? Why the hell should it matter to him when he had Aeris?! "Tifa say something!" He said almost shouting. "...Why does it matter if you have me or not Cloud? You have Aeris now!" I was also almost shouting and I turned my head away and I could feel the tears pour down my cheeks again. He was silent for some time and all I could feel was his breath on my neck. "I would never have gone on a date with her Tifa, I don't even know her." He finally said. I looked up at him shocked. "But she said..." I started. "I know what she said." Said Cloud "but that doesn't mean it's going to happen." I looked at him hard, did he mean it? "You don't believe me do you?" He said quietly, "I swear to god if she fucks this up..." He paused, I could feel the waight of his hands on mine increase. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Tifa, I saw Jenova before... I swear on my life I did." I looked at him in disbelief. I knew exactly what it meant if Jenova was still alive. "Sephiroth..." I whispered, I shuddered at the name. I felt Cloud's finger on my lip. "Something is going to happen Tifa, and I need you." I felt a teardrop once again fall on my cheek but I was unsure weather it had come from me or Cloud. " Before you said to me, 'Cloud, be strong!' do you remember?" he asked. "Of course I do," I whispered. "I need your words of encouragement, I need your faith in me Tifa... sometimes it's the only thing that keeps me going..." He said quietly. "So don't leave me." he whispered. I felt him move his hands from mine to around my waist as he lay the top half of his body on mine and hugged me tighter than he had ever done before, as if he were afraid to let me go. I stayed limp for a few moments as his words slowly sunk in. Then slowly I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight. I was crying again but these were not tears of sorrow. After a while he let me go and I could make out he was scratching the back of his head with his hand. He was embarrassed but he didn't need to be. "We have to sleep," he said "I don't know what tomorrow will bring." He said quietly. "Whatever it brings, I will be there for you." I said to him. I felt his lips touch my forehead, my heart fluttered at his touch. I listened to his footsteps as he made his way to where he had been sat before. My eyes closed and despite being locked up in Shinra HQ, I felt safe. 


	9. Chapter 9

"What are you doing here?" I stood there in my fighting stance watching him. The great Sephiroth standing right in front of me, looking just like he did that night. He was relaxed, his great Masamune held loosely by his side. I couldn't look at it, I could remember all to well the pain when he cut through me with it. He was smiling. "Did you really think you had seen the last of me? Did you and your 'hero' really think you could defeat someone as strong as me?!" As he spoke his voice became more and more angry and he was coming closer to me. Terrified I cast a fire spell but to my horror he raised his hand and it reflected of him and hit me instead. I fell to the ground and before I knew it he was stood over me, I tried to get up but I felt a rush of pain as I realised he had one foot on my hair. "What do you want?!" I screamed "Haven't you done enough? Isn't it enough for you? You took away everything dear to me, you destroyed my life and every night you haunt my dreams. What more do you want?!" I screamed, one of my hands was on my hair trying to free it. "Done enough?" He said, his voice now calm. "My dear Miss Lockheart, until I fulfill my aim nothing I do shall ever be enough. He moved so fast I couldn't do anything to stop him, next thing I knew he had grabbed me by my top and pulled me up so I was on my feet, his sword was also raised and he put it to the side of my neck. I shivered as I felt the cold steel pressed against me, he didn't press any harder. I looked into his mako eyes trying to figure out what he was going to do next. "Not again," I whispered. He smiled, "At least last time was quick, I won't be so kind this time. It's not my fault you and Strife refuse to die." He said calmly as he looked me up and down. I could now feel the sword pressing harder against my skin and I felt a tear run down my cheek. Sephiroth face was close to mine and when he spoke I felt his hot breath but I couldn't turn away, I was afraid to move. He moved his hand from my shirt to around my waist, he held me tight in his iron grip. What could I do? There had to be a way out! I thought terrified. "Where is he now?" He said with a satisfied smile. He then moved his head down to the other side of my neck. I felt his teeth bite into my skin, he bit harder and harder until I felt a drop of blood run down my neck. I was in so much pain and so afraid I couldn't even call out. I could smell the blood, the smell was so strong...  
  
"Tifa... Wake up!" I opened my eyes, I looked around me for Sephiroth but all I saw was Cloud's face, he looked worried. I quickly sat up and put my hand to my neck. I couldn't feel anything but... could I still smell blood?  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked but I was almost afraid to hear the answer. Cloud put his hand on mine and squeezed it tight. He looked so confused. "Something's wrong. Look outside." He said pointing to the door with his other hand. I starred at the door for a moment, who opened it? I got up and walked out of it, the smell of blood grew stronger as I moved along the corridor, Cloud was close behind me. On the floor I saw the guard dead. Seeing a dead person was hardly new to me but for some reason, I was afraid. The dream was still fresh in my mind as I bent over the guard inspecting his wounds.  
  
"I wonder what happened..." I said quietly. His body was so mangled I couldn't make out what killed him. Cloud put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me back as if he didn't want me to see. I stood up and turned to face him. "He should have the key on him..." Cloud muttered. I watched him take the keys from what was left of the guard's belt. He started to make his way to the prison cells but I didn't move. I kept staring at the body, trying to make sense of the situation. Cloud's hand was once again on my shoulder.  
  
"Come on, Tifa," he said softly as I turned to look at him, "get Aeris, I'll go help Barret and the others." he said as he handed me a key. 'Damn! Why was he telling me to get Aeris?!' I thought slightly irritated. I really did not want to talk to her after yesterday. I opened the door and she sat up and looked very surprised to see me. "Tifa!" She said smiling at me with a very sweet but very clearly fake smile. "We don't know what's happened." I said looking at her calmly. "We woke up, our cell door was open and the guard dead." I said as I came into her cell. She got of the bed. "We can finally escape." She said still smiling. 'Drop the act!' where the words repeating themselves in my mind. We stood there in silence for some time. I was looking at the floor when I heard a noise behind me, I turned around and to my relief it was Cloud. I walked past him and looked down the corridor. Red was already making his way down it. I had to be strong... it was just a dream after all. "Come on, let's follow Red XIII!" I said indicating for Cloud and Aeris to follow me. I soon wished I hadn't. The Shinra building was full of dead bodies and the walls were covered in blood. Everywhere I turned I saw death and destruction. "This feels all too familiar." I said quietly to Cloud who was walking close beside me, his sword drawn. "I know." He said quietly, "stay close to me, whatever it was could still be here." He said taking hold of my hand. I nodded as we approached Red XIII who had paused where the metal dome had been only a few hours ago. "...Did it get away? Jenova...?" Cloud asked, I looked over to him... he looked scared. "Jenova Specimen... Looks like it went to the upper floor using that elevator for the specimens." Red said, he was so calm. I bit my lip as we climbed the stairs, terrified of what we were going to find. I couldn't stop thinking about my dream, it was so clear and felt so real... 'It was just a dream, it was just a dream...' I said to myself over and over but not believing it for a second. We finally got up to the top of the stairs and there it was. President Shinra on his desk and in his back... 'NO!' my thoughts screamed. 'No it can't be! That sword... it can't be!'  
  
"He's dead... The leader of Shinra, Inc. is dead." Barret said but his words were so quiet. I ran to the president to get a better look at the sword. Maybe I was mistaken. but I closer I got, the harder it was to avoid the truth. "Then this sword must be...!?" I said finally. My whole body shaking. I could feel a pain in my chest, in the area that sword had struck me at the age of 16. "Sephiroth's!!" Cloud said, venom in his voice. "...Sephiroth is alive?" I asked. 'please say no' my mind whispered. "...Looks like it. Only Sephiroth can use that sword." Cloud said quietly as he came up behind me and put his hands on my shaking shoulders. I turned around and wrapped my arms around him. He held onto me tight. "Who cares who did it!? This is the end of the Shinra now!" Barret said, joy in his voice... poor man, he didn't know. I buried my face in Cloud's chest and closed my eyes. I didn't want to be here anymore... Cloud suddenly let go of me but I stayed where I was with my back to them. I could hear voices, they had captured a member of Shinra and were quizzing him about what happened. I listened as he confirmed Sephiroth was here. I stayed where I was wishing I could wake up from this terrible dream. "He was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land." I heard the man say. I turned and looked around me. Cloud and Barret were holding onto the man, I recognised him from the meeting we had witnessed the previous day. "Then what?" I said, my voice was angry. "Does that mean that the Promised Land really exists and that Sephiroth's here to save it from Shinra?" I said in a sarcastic tone but Barret didn't seem to understand me.  
  
"So he's a good guy then?" He said looking confused. "Save the Promised Land? A good guy? No way!!" Cloud shouted. "It's not that simple!! I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!" he said as he put his hands over his face. I moved over to comfort him when I heard a noise. It was the sound of a helicopter. "Rufus! &*%$!! I forgot about him!" Barret exclaimed. I turned to face him, what now?! "Who's that?" I asked.  
  
"Vice President Rufus. The President's son." He said quietly. Oh fantastic! The bastard dies and now his son is going to take over. Damn maybe it would be a good thing. You can't judge a person before you meet them. "I wonder what kind of person he is..." I said as I watched the helicopter through the windows. We ran to the balcony to find the new president talking to the man from before. On seeing us he ran away leaving the young man alone with us. He was a good looking guy, about 20 or so dressed in white.  
  
"Who are you guys?" He said looking us all up and down. We all introduced ourselves, I hated the way he was looking at us. He thought he was above us. After we had spoken he simply shrugged and said.  
  
"What a crew." He ran his fingers through his hair and looked me up and down a few times, held his gaze on my beasts then my face. I glared at him. "Well, I'm Rufus. The President of Shinra, Inc." He said smirking.  
  
"You only President, 'cause your old man died!" Barret reminded him.  
  
"That's right." He said smiling. "I'll let you hear my new appointment speech." He said as he once again started to look at me. I clearly did not want to hear a speech but he started anyway. He circled me a few times as he spoke, looking me up and down then moved to the others. "A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them." He concluded. There was a long pause before I turned to the others and said.  
  
"He likes to make speeches just like his father." I so badly wanted to kill him. Then Cloud turned to Barret, his face was full of fear. I was shocked.  
  
"Get outta this building with Aeris!" he said. His voice was urgent.  
  
"What?" Barret said shocked.  
  
"I'll explain later! Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!" he said.  
  
"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Barret asked now looking equally worried.  
  
"I'll tell you later! Just take my word for it! I'll go after I take care of him!" He said calming a little.  
  
"Awright, Cloud!" Barret said, he seemed to trust him now. I wasn't sure if Cloud wanted me to go with the others or not he hadn't said. I thought it best to follow them anyway. I knew Cloud could look after himself. As we made out way downstairs Aeris stopped.  
  
"Cloud... I just thought of something." She said. Maybe I shouldn't have left him. Who was I kidding there was no way I could walk out of this building without him. I moved towards her.  
  
"...I'll wait for Cloud! Everyone, get to the elevator!" I said in the most commanding tone I could manage. I went back to the doorway to wait for Cloud... God damn I hoped he was all right. 


	10. Chapter 10

'Maybe I should go and get him. He has been a long time, but then he might think I think he can't take care of himself.' I started pacing the room going back and forth in front of the doorway purposefully avoiding the desk on which the dead president lay. If I said I wasn't scared I would be lying. I was terrified! Cloud was fighting the new president who could be an amazing fighter for all we knew with about 50 body guards, the others were making there way out of the building ALONE (damn I shouldn't have left them!) and Sephiroth could be wandering the building and from the dead bodies everywhere I could tell he was in a killing mood. That's it, I'm going in… but then Cloud might not want me to. I don't want to mess anything up but what if he needs my help?! 

After calming myself a little I decided I would leave it five more minutes, if he wasn't out by then I would go in. To my relief Cloud came running back inside and he looked fine! 

"Where's Rufus?" I asked hoping Cloud had killed him but Cloud didn't look like a man who had come away victorious. 

"I couldn't finish 'em. Looks like this's gonna get complicated." He said to me looking at the floor. I put my hand on his arm,

"It's ok," I said, "You will get him next time." I said squeezing his arm. He was still looking at the floor deep in thought then he looked up at me. 

"Did the others get out?" He asked. 

"I sent them downstairs but I dunno how easy it will be to get out of the building." I said looking worried. 

"Tifa…" Cloud said quietly. 

"mm…" I said still trying to think of a way out. 

"You waited for me." He said. I looked at him and there was gratitude in his face. 

"Of course I did." I said smiling. He put his hand on the hand I had on his arm, I just wanted to kiss him. For a few moments we stayed like that just looking at each other, I looked down blushing. " We better hurry, I'm sure Rufus has men and there is no doubt he will have sent them after us." I said looking around, but the room was so empty. 

"Yeah," Cloud said. "Besides I don't want to face Sephiroth… not right now" He said looking at the place on my chest where the wound had been. I suddenly felt very self conscious and put my hand over the area. "I'm sorry." He said looking up abruptly. "I wasn't…" he said, his voice full of distress and he was going a deep shade of red. I smiled knowing what he thought I thought. 

"It's ok, I know what you were thinking Cloud," I said "but that was a long time ago. I'm stronger now." I said as re assuringly as I could. 

"I was so scared I had lost you…" He said quietly. I looked at the floor. I had never known how bad my wounds were. When I woke up in hospital they were all healed, but I still had a faint scar. I was pulled out of my thoughts by Cloud suddenly taking hold of my hand and moving me down the stairs at a quick pace, 

"Cloud?!" I said shocked. 

"We can't hang around," he said as we carried on moving downwards, he was going so quick I was sure I was going to fall. "I can't ever let it happen again Tifa." I heard him say but this time his voice was quiet. We kept going down the stairs until we were on the bottom floor. 

"Where are they?" I asked looking around me, I was so worried, and if anything had happened to them I would never forgive myself. 

"Maybe they got out." Cloud said as he walked towards the main entrance. I followed him, but surely it couldn't be that easy, we couldn't just walk out. I watched Cloud as he carefully opened the door a little but we were met by the sound of gunfire. Quickly he closed the door, grabbing me by the hand and moved me away from the door. 

"Shit!" He said, he looked so frustrated. 

"It's ok Cloud, we will find another way." I said. I knew there had to be another way. Then my eye fell on a door with the words 'Car Park' written over it. 

"Cloud…" I said smiling. He looked behind him then turned to me and also smiled. 

"Lets go!" He said once again taking my hand as we ran to the car park. 

It was darker and smelt of petrol. I looked at all the company cars, Cloud was close behind me. Then our eyes fell on the bike, it was beautiful! 

"Wow," I whispered as I went over and touched the seat. Cloud came over as I swung a leg around and sat on the bike, it was so big I could barely reach the handles. Cloud laughed when he saw me and got on behind me, he wrapped his arms around my waist tightly. 

"You do realise," He said, his lips brushing against my ear, "I'm having the bike!" he said with a laugh. I turned sharply so I could look at him. 

"Oh really?" I said slightly annoyed. 

"He smiled, maybe when all this is over you will get your own," He said, he was grinning now! He knew how much I wanted to ride it. I glared at him but he simply responded by kissing my forehead. I blushed and quickly got of the bike. I stood in front of him as his eyes wandered around the car park. 

"So… what's the plan?" I asked. 

"I take the bike," he said, I rolled my eyes and he lightly slapped my thigh. "And you drive that," he said pointing to a blue van behind me. "That will fit the others in too and if we get attacked I can protect you." He said smiling. 

"Why can't I protect you?" I said as I walked over to the van. 

"Please Tifa, you get the bike next time we escape the Shinra building." He said with a laugh as he came up behind me and put his hands on my hips. I sighed, I knew he wouldn't back down. 

"Ok, you can have it your way this once," I said turning to face him. He was right behind me so I had to put my hands on his chest to keep at least some space between us. The attraction was too much, I wanted so badly to tell him how I felt, why couldn't I ever stop feeling like this? That night in the cell had made my feeling even stronger than I thought possible.

"Um… I'll go get the others, and you get these things started." I said finally.

One day I would be brave enough to tell him but right now escape was the most important thing.

I came to the ground floor and it was still empty. Shit! I thought annoyed. Where are the others?! Maybe they are on another floor. Where they captured? Maybe I should check the cell. I climbed the stairs to the next floor when I was met face to face with a young soldier. He starred at me in shock for a few seconds then he seemed to pull himself together, he straightened his posture as he spoke, 

"President Rufus demands you come with me!" He said pointing his gun at me. The gun was trembling in his hands. 

"I don't think so!" I said evenly as I kicked the gun out of his hand. He was shocked but that soon turned to fear, which he attempted to hide. 

"F…fine you can k…kill me!" The young man said, the fear in his eyes making me almost feel guilty, "but you will be caught!" He shouted and before I knew what was happening he blew a whistle. The noise was so loud I had to cover my ears with my hands. The next thing I knew I heard thundering footsteps. 

"You called the other soldiers!" I screamed! I punched him in the gut, hard. He called out in pain as he keeled over. "If we ever meet again don't expect me to spare your life!" I shouted as I ran down the stairs at full speed. As I got half way down the stairs I noticed Barret and the others! Thank god they were safe! I ran over to him. 

"Barret!" I shouted.

"Tifa!" He said looking pleased to see me. His eyes then darted towards the stairs then back to me. "Where's Cloud?" He asked looking worried. I didn't have time to answer any questions. I knew the guards were coming and we couldn't take them all. Aeris didn't even count as a fighter we would all be killed! I made my way to the car park door. 

"Everyone, over here!" I shouted. Barret stayed where he was still looking worried. "Huh? What's up? Where's Cloud?" He asked. 

"I'll tell you later!" I shouted desperately. I then saw the first guard coming down the stairs. "Hurry, Hurry!!" I shouted. They all followed me but I kept them at a safe distance behind me. On entering the car park I went in first, after I was sure it was safe I signalled for the others to follow me. I got in the car, Cloud seemed to have started it up. I hadn't driven for a long time, when I had I had always been such a good driver. I soon found it all came back to me pretty quick but where was Cloud? 

I heard a crash and as I looked around there he was on the motorbike. I paused, he looked so damn sexy! Stop it Tifa you can't think of that now! I scolded myself as we drove down the stairs at full speed. When we got on the motorway I relaxed, perhaps we were safe now. 

Suddenly the whole car jolted, I turned to see a soldier on a motorbike beside me. 

"Shit!" I shouted. Cloud also saw the guy and came up besides him on his bike and managed to knock the other guy of his bike with his sword. Aeris was sat next to me screaming like a child.

"Tifa! Tifa! Drive faster! They are going to kill us!" She said grabbing my arm tight. I pulled my arm away, I was trying to concentrate on avoiding the bikes the last thing I needed was some hysterical little girl pulling my hand of the wheel! I checked in the mirror, there were more behind us. Cloud did his best to deal with them all, the van did suffer a few blows and with every blow Aeris became more and more frightened and screamed all the louder. 

"Tifa they are going to make us crash and kill us! Tifa they have swords! Oh my god some of them have guns! Tifa there is one by me drive the other way! Tifa we are going to die! Tifa do something! Ti…" 

"SHUT UP!" I screamed. She instantly stopped screaming and I tried to calm myself "I thought you said you were used to danger?!" I said eyeing her suspiciously. 

"Well the Turks were dangerous," she said, her voice had quieted a little. 

"You knew the Turks would have never hurt you, it's hardly the same!" I said annoyed. 

Suddenly Aeris' eyes were on the road and she started to scream. I turned my head and slammed my foot on the brake as I saw some kind of monster towering above us. I got out of the car as did Barret and Cloud got of his bike. Aeris was still screaming and going hysterical in the car. Cloud came up beside me and Barret was on my other side. 

"We are going to have to fight our way past" Cloud murmured. 

"Let's do it then!" I said. I found myself surprisingly eager. So much adrenaline had built up from the escape and I needed to use it. The monster was a pushover! After a shore battle he lay at our feet dead. 

I looked beyond the body to the road before us. It had collapsed, were could we go now? 

"Well, what do we do now?" Barret asked quietly. I felt so lost….

"Sephiroth is alive. I... I have to settle the score." Cloud said staring straight forward. 'You and me both' I thought to myself. 

"And that'll save the Planet?" Barret asked with a hint of hope in his voice. 

"...Seems like it." Cloud said in a tone that told us the planter was not his main concern. 

"Awright, I'm going." Barret said decisively. 

"I'll go too." I turned to see Aeris stood behind me. At least she had managed to pull herself together. "...I have things that I want to find out." She said. 

"About the Ancients?" Cloud asked. He didn't look like he wanted her to come, I knew how he felt, she would need a lot of protecting. 

".......Many things." Aeris said smiling at Cloud. He turned away a look of annoyance on his face. I had stayed quiet all this time trying to figure out what was best for me. I couldn't leave Cloud, I loved him so much. I wanted to stay with him, and fight besides him, and be there for him when he needed me. Revenge on Sephiroth would also be amazing, I never thought it possible but Cloud seemed to… and of course the planet. I had been working in AVALANCHE to save this planter for years, I was not going to let him or Rufus Shinra destroy it. I walked slowly until I was behind Cloud. "I guess this's good bye, Midgar." I said quietly. I looked back and realised I was not sorry to go. We made out way to the rope placed at the end of the road and climbed down it until we reached ground… the outskirts of Midgar, we were outside. 

  
  



	11. Chapter 11

 I looked around at the green fields surrounding us. It was beautiful, I felt a sense of inner peace I hadn't felt in a long time. I felt a hand on my back and I turned to see Cloud stood behind me. 

 "...I guess this is the start of our journey..." I said smiling. I couldn't understand why but things looked a lot more hopeful now we were finally out of Midgar.  

 "It's dangerous. You sure you want to go?" Cloud asked. He did look worried, he should know he didn't have to worry about me.  

".....Mmm. but you know," I said as I took a step towards him,  "it should be all right if you keep your promise." I said smiling. He smiled back and put his hand on my cheek. He was trying to be brave but I knew he was worried. He gently rubbed my skin with his thumb, his hands were ruff but I didn't care. I watched him carefully, he seemed to be lost in his thoughts and they were clearly troubling him. I opened my mouth to speak, to ask what was wrong but he let go of me and started walking, he then stopped and turned back to look at me. 

 "Let's go!" He said, his voice was eager.  

 "We need a group leader for our journey." Barret said. Everyone turned to look at him. "'Course only me could be the leader." He said grinning with an air of confidence. No one else looked so sure. I loved Barret as a father but he never thought rationally. Everything could be solved with violence for him but for this journey we needed more than that. I didn't know what to say to him. I didn't want to upset him.     

 "You think so...?" I asked biting my lip. Aeris then walked over to Cloud and put her hand on his shoulder.   

 "It would have to be Cloud." She said grinning at Barret then at me. I tried my best not to glare at her but Barret had no problem making his feelings clear. He stared at her for a few seconds a look of annoyance on his face.  

 "^#$^%....... awright." He said glaring at her. He then looked at Cloud,  "Go Northeast to a town called Kalm. If something happens, we'll meet up there." He said, he then sat down on the grass looking very annoyed.  "Sides, we can't have 5 people strolling down the fields. Split us into 2 parties..." He said.  

 "Ok Barret," Cloud said finally. "Red, do you know your way to Kalm?" He said turning to look at Red who had been sat in silence watching us all. Red simply nodded. "Ok, Tifa, Barret and I will go together and you can go with Aeris." He said finally. Aeris' face fell and she dropped her hand from Clouds shoulder. I turned my back to them abruptly to hide my smile. Barret came and stood next to me. 

 "What you so happy bout" he asked looking confused. 

 "Nothing," I said trying my best to pull a serious face. I felt a hand take hold of mine, I turned to see Cloud stood besides me, we looked into each others eyes for a few seconds… 'I love you' were the only words repeating themselves in my head… maybe now was the ti… 

 "See you later Cloud!" Came Aeris' shrill voice from behind us. What exactly was this girl trying to do? Cloud rolled his eyes and we started walking. 

 I was content in a way, I was walking with the man I loved and my closest friend. We had survived so much and finally we had left Midgar. 

 I loved the feel of the warm sun on my skin, I had missed it all these years. I paused when I saw a patch of flowers, letting go of Cloud's hand I stopped and picked one. It was white like the one he had given me at the bar.

 "Tifa don't get left behind," Cloud said as he walked towards me. "These fields are not safe." He said looking around us. 

 "Don't you think I can take care of myself?" I said, this was getting annoying, I took great pride in my fighting skills and Cloud didn't seem to think I could defend myself against a few monsters. "Why so protective all of a sudden?" I asked as I approached him and playfully brushed the flower across his face, but he didn't look amused. 

 "Because…" he said looking down then back into my eyes. "Because… Sephiroth is alive Tifa, and he almost took you from me once." He said abruptly as he turned away and started walking. I walked beside him looking him up and down. Was he really that worried? He had brought it up in the Shinra building before. I knew he felt weak in comparison to Sephiroth, perhaps the feeling that he couldn't protect me bothered him more than he was willing to admit. 

 "I will be more careful Cloud," I said quietly. He stopped and put an arm around me, bringing me in close to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and I wished with all my heart we could just stay like that forever. The temptation to lay down on the soft grass with him in the sunshine was a big one. Didn't he know he was all I wanted? 

 "Tifa" he whispered, his lips touching my ear making me shudder in pleasure. I could feels his hands roaming up and down my back and his grip on me was firm.   

 "Yes… Cloud?" I said finally, finding it hard to talk I was so nervous. I love being so close to him, I just wish I could get closer, be his. "Cloud… I…" I started not knowing what I was going to say next.

 "Shit." Clouds hands stopped moving over my back. "Barret is almost out of sight." I looked over and Cloud was right. I sighed, half in disappointment but also half in relief… I was so scared. If he rejected me I wouldn't be able to live without him. 

 We walked as quickly as we could until we were behind him. 

 "I can see Kalm!" I said smiling. It looked like such a pretty little village, I missed my village. 

 "Kinda like home," Cloud said quietly as if he had read my thoughts. 

 "Yeah," I said as I gently took hold of his hand. He squeezed it tight and I squeezed back. I was so glad I had him here for me.   

 We entered the small village and I couldn't help smiling. It was so pretty and peaceful. I looked up at the local inn and saw Aeris stood at the window. 

 "This is Kalm." Barret said to Cloud. 

 "Everyone's waiting at the inn. Let's go Cloud." I said smiling at him as I entered the inn. I paused at the reception, I knew Cloud, he would want to look the town over first. I turned to the receptionist, a short woman with brown hair just above her shoulders.  "Excuse me," I said.

 "Yes dear" She said looking up at me and smiling. 

 " If a young man with spiky blonde hair comes in here, a Mr. Strife, can you please tell him his friends are waiting for him upstairs?" I asked. 

 "Of course." She said smiling. While I had been talking to the woman Barret had come into the inn and gone upstairs. I thanked the receptionist and made my way up stairs. I entered the room and saw all the others stood around waiting. 

 "Are you all ok?" I asked as I sat down on the nearest bed, it was so soft, I lay down and sighed. I would do anything to have my old room back with my old bed… but it was all gone, burnt to the ground.  

 "We are waiting for Cloud to come and explain things." Aeris said. I sat up quickly.

 "Explain things?" I asked, "W..What do you mean?" I said looking at them all in turn. Barret and Aeris didn't seem to notice my discomfort but Red eyed me suspiciously. 

 "You know about Sephiroth and the past and how he threatens the planet." Barret said. I cringed, Cloud couldn't do that… I hadn't spoken much to Cloud about the past since we had met up again, mainly because what he did say scared me so much I always avoided the subject… and the state I had found him in… 

" Tifa…" I turned to see Red who had climbed onto the bed beside me. "Is there something you want to tell me before Cloud tells his story?" He said, his voice was kind. I knew he just wanted to help but to tell them? How could I? What would I tell them? Tell them Cloud didn't remember things how they happened, or maybe it was me? But no, the things I felt, everything was so clear. There had to be a reason for all this… an explanation… "Tifa?" I had waited so long… I was so sure he would come home, he promised he would come. "Tifa?" 

 When he said he would leave 

_ "Come this spring...."_

  I was so sad  

_ "I'm leaving this town for Midgar." _

 I tried not to show it 

 _"........All boys are leaving our town." _

 But I knew I was losing something special.  

 _"But I'm different from all of them." _

 Of course your different, I love you.  

 _"I'm not just going to find a job" _

 Why couldn't you have just found a regular job? 

 _"I want to join SOLDIER." _

 Is it because of SOLDIER you think you were there? Did they do something to you? Did I dream you saving me at the reactor? How could you have been there… did they do something to me?

 _"I'm going to be the best there is," _

 What were you trying to prove?  

_ "Just like Sephiroth." _

 No! 

  _"Sephiroth.... The Great Sephiroth."_

 Ha! Even I worshipped him… back then… 

 _"Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER?" _

 Don't go….

 _"...I probably wont be able to come back to this town for a while."_

 Don't go… 

 _"...huh?" _

 Why didn't I ask you to stay?  

 _"Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?" _

 I read them every day  

_ "I'll try." _

 and there was never any mention of you… 

_"Hey, why don't we make a promise?"_

 Did you keep it?

 _"Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind....."_

 Was it you or Zack?  

_ "You come save me, all right?" _

 I don't understand! 

 _"What?" _

 You didn't know how much I wanted to see you again. 

 _"Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me."_

 Where were you? 

 _"I want to at least experience that once." _

 Did I? 

 _"What?" _

 So confused

_ "Come on--! Promise me----!" _

 Please promise me… and keep it 

_ "All right.... I promise." _

 I love you…. 

 "TIFA!" 

 I looked at red who's face was filled with curiosity. I forced a smile. 

 "Nothing to tell." I said as I slid of the bed. His eyes were fixed on me as I walked to the end of the bed and leaned against it. 

 We waited for Cloud and it felt like forever. No one was talking, I bit my lip hard, what was he going to say? 

 "Cloud," Aeris shouted. I looked up to see him appear up the stairs carrying some new weapons.  "You're late!" she scolded.   

 "Yo man, you're late!" Barret said. 

 "Sorry to keep you waiting." Cloud apologised. There had to be a way of stopping this… I did not want to hear this… 

 "Guess everyone's here now." Aeris said in a cheerful tone. 

 "So let's hear your story......" Barret said smiling. "You know, the one about Sephiroth and the crisis facing the planet." I looked at Cloud, he didn't look worried in the least. "Let's hear it all." All? No we can't hear it at all! 

 Cloud looked down at the floor then up at Barret, I couldn't read his face, what was he thinking? What was he going to say? 


	12. Chapter 12

 "...I used to want to be like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER."  He started, his voice quiet.  "After working with Sephiroth on several missions, we became friends." Friends? Cloud you didn't even know him! My thoughts started racing, maybe I should stop him now. 

 "You call that a friend?" Barret said in a sarcastic tone.   

 "Yeah, well..." Cloud said looking at the floor.  "He's older than me, and he hardly ever talked about himself." He said quietly, he sounded like a little boy talking about his hero. I felt Cloud's gaze on me, I looked up wanting to speak but I didn't know what to say, there was nothing I could say. I looked at the floor and waited. I had to hear all this some time. I had to know exactly what he thought happened all that time ago.    

 "So I guess you'd call him a war buddy..."  As Cloud continued I could still feel his azure eyes on me.  "We trusted each other. Until one day..." He cut of and there was a silence. I looked up at him concerned. He had his right hand covering half his face and his eyes closed. Cloud… this was hurting him…   

 "...One day?"  Aeris urged him. I was about to approach him when Cloud turned away from us.

 "After the war it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against the Shinra." He said with more confidence. He seemed to find it easier if he didn't have to look at us. 

 "...........That was 5 years ago." He said, 5 years… sometimes it was fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday and at others it was like a half forgotten dream… a nightmare.  "I was 16..." and I was 15… we were so young, how did we cope? Uh why am I saying 'we'?! 

  I listened to Cloud's story, he remembered every detail and his description of Sephiroths attitude was accurate, it matched what I had seen of him on our journey. What was going on?

 "Sephiroth's strength is unreal. He is far stronger in reality than any story you might have heard about him." Cloud said. I instinctively put my hand over the area where he had struck me. I had wrestled with him for the sword…. Uh I can't think about this! I did my best to erase any image from my mind. These were the memories I wanted to forget.   

 "So... Where do you come in?" Aeris asked.  

 "Me?" Cloud said quietly… as he spoke his words from back then were rushing through my mind…

 _'I'm going to be the best there is,' _

  "I was mesmerised by the way Sephiroth fought."….

_ 'Just like Sephiroth.' _

_'Sephiroth.... The Great Sephiroth.'_

 Why?! Why did we see so many great things in him?! 

 I looked up to see Red looking at me again… did he know? I bit my lip and looked away from him. I felt like everyone was watching me, like they all knew. How could I let the man I loved talk like this, I had to stop him but I just didn't know how

  ".........."  

 "......and then we reached Nibelheim." Cloud said. I looked at him, my eyes wide and my body started to shake slightly. I listened to every word he said, trying to make sense of it, trying to come up with a possible explanation. He knew too much for it all to be made up… but some details were wrong. I had waited for him at the gates of Niblehime. Sephiroth had come, the great Sephiroth but no Cloud. 

 "Yo wait a minute!!" Barret said. I looked up annoyed at him for interrupting Cloud's story. "Isn't that, um...?  The name of Sephiroth's mother..." He asked.  No one said anything, I wasn't even aware Sephiroth had a family, but to think of it everyone must come from somewhere.  "I remember Jenova. That's that damn headless spook livin' in the Shinra building." Barret said.  

 "That's right." Cloud said. I had to hear what happened next, I couldn't cope with any more of this tension.  

 "Barret, would you please let us hear what Cloud has to say?" I snapped  "You can ask questions later." I said. I regretted my words as soon as they passed my lips. I loved and respected Barret, I shouldn't have spoken to him like that… but I had to know and I had to know now!  

 "Tifa, I was only......" Barret said looking at me, a mixture of shock and concern in his eyes.

 "Okay Cloud, continue." I said firmly looking at Cloud. I would make it up to Barret later. This was far too important.  

  "It's a reunion of childhood pals!" Aeris said grinning. The silly girl thought that was the reason I wanted to hear the story so urgently.  

  "......I was really surprised with Tifa." Cloud said, his back still to us. 

 He continued his story, a little hazy in parts and refusing to talk of what happened when he got home, not matter how much Aeris and Barret pleaded with him. I finally worked up the courage and asked. 

"Cloud...?" I said,  "Did you go into my house?" I asked quickly.    
"Yeah..."Came the response. I looked up shocked. "I thought you might be home." He said. What had I done the day the soldier arrived? I remembered the tears… the disappointment, I locked myself in my room. Did he walk in and leave without me realising?    
 "Cloud...?" I said again. "Did you go into my room?"  Cloud was silent for a few minutes.     
"Yeah......." came the response.  "And I found some Orthopaedic Underwear in a drawer." He said laughing,   
"Cloud!!!" I said annoyed. This was not the time for jokes! 

 "Just kidding. Don't get mad..." He said sounding slightly hurt.  

 "...Cloud"  I said quietly "We're talking about something really important here." I was worried I had upset him so I decided to quickly change the subject. !! "Did you play my piano?"    
"Yeah, I jammed on it" he said and despite his back being to us I knew he was smiling.  "Just a little" he added.  "I can read sheet music, too, you know....." He informed me. At any other time I would have smiled.  There was another silence when I heard Cloud whisper,  
"The letter..." letter? I thought back… from the son of the man who ran the general store… what was his name? He had such a big crush on me and he wasn't subtle about it. I smiled as I remembered the sweet boy… then he left for Midgar. After Niblehime was destroyed I never heard from him again    
"Did you read it? My letter?" I asked feeling myself tense a little.    
 "I'd never do that!" Cloud said sounding a little offended.    
"Of course!" I said feeling re assured.  

 Cloud carried on his story then he started to describe a man I knew very well. 

 "  'And who are you?' I asked him, he told me his name was Zangan. and he  travels around the world teaching children martial arts." Cloud paused. I gasped, I never knew Cloud and Zangen met…. Where was he now, did he die back at home. It was true he had come to Nibelhime to see me, to train me, Cloud must have been there otherwise he had no way of knowing.  

 " He went on about having 128 students all over the world but I wasn't really paying attention until he told me Tifa was one of his students. He said Tifa has good sense. And that she'll be a powerful fighter." He said quietly. I blinked back tears as I remembered my old sensei. He was an amazing man, he taught me so much, he said I had a natural ability. I would just be a weak little girl if it weren't for him. I owe him so much. 

 The next part of Cloud's story caused me more reason to blink back tears. He talked of  when we set of for the mission, when my father went to ask Sephiroth to take care of me.  

_"Listen to me, Sephiroth. In case something happens..."_

_  "...Trust me."_  Sephiroth had said, his voice so strong and confidant. Memories were filling my head now and there was nothing I could do to stop them.

 _"I'm Tifa. Nice to meet you!"_ I had said giving Sephiroth my brightest smile. He nodded his head at me, a man of few words. I remembered thinking how good looking he was, how unsure of me he seemed. Most importantly how much I wanted to prove myself, I wanted to show him I was not just some little girl, that I was the best guide in Niblehim and that I was strong and brave! I was always sad and disappointed that there was no Cloud but I wanted to make the best of a bad situation, I couldn't let it get me down. 

_"Mr. Sephiroth! Please let me take one picture for a memento! Tifa, can you ask him for me too......?" _

I closed my eyes trying to block out the memories I had tried so hard to bury, trying to block out the sound of Cloud's voice… but it was useless. 

 "Am I... human?" Cloud said, his voices had gone quiet. I opened my eyes, I was shaking all over. I had never guessed the horrors contained in that reactor. "I didn't quite understand what Sephiroth was saying at that time. I was even more surprised by that fact that Shinra was producing monsters." Cloud concluded. There was a silence for some time, everyone absorbed into their own thoughts. Barret was the first to break it.

 "Damn, Shinra! the more I hear, the more I hate 'em!" He said, his voice bitter.  

 "......who would have ever thought the Mako Reactor held a secret like that." I said.

 "That would seem to explain the increase in the number of monsters recently." Red said, he then turned to Barret, "I think we should listen carefully to Cloud. Don't you think so Barret?" 

 "(Why you talkin' to me!?)"  Barret asked. 

 " Let's take a rest." Cloud said, no emotion in his voice.  

 "Yeah, mebbe so. Wanna take a breather here?" Barret asked, everyone nodded. I sighed in relief, I had to get away. 

 "I'm… gonna go take a shower." I said as I hurried out of the room and down the hall, I kept walking at a fast pace until I reached the bathroom and locked myself in. I stood with my back against the door and tried to take in what had just happened. I abruptly wiped away a tear that had started to trickle down my right cheek. "Just don't think…" I thought to myself as I undressed and turned on the water in the shower. "Don't think don't think don't think…" I kept repeating as I washed my body and hair with the soaps and shampoo provided by the inn. I closed my eyes and let the warm water run over my body, I let out a sigh as I felt myself relax a little. I was suddenly shaken out of my calm state by a banging on the door.

 "Tifa?" came a voice. "Can we talk… please." I gasped when I realised the voice belonged to Cloud. 

 "Shit" I whispered under my breath as I turned the water of and wrapped a towel around myself. I attempted to dry my hair with another towel. 

 "Tifa are you there?" Came Cloud's concerned voice.  

 "Y…yes." I said "Just a minute…" I said as I made sure the towel wrapped around me was secure. I paused with my hand on the lock. What was I going to say to him. I couldn't tell him my memories were different, I couldn't make him think he was insane, I was doubting my own sanity. Ok deep breath Tifa and just don't think! I opened the door. The cold air from outside hit me and it was freezing compared to the warm steamy air in the bathroom. Cloud's eyes travelled down my body and widened, his cheeks started turning a little red. I couldn't help but smile. 

 "Oh… your… um… sorry… I…." He said turning redder by the second. 

 "It's ok Cloud, I was done anyway." I said smiling at him. He nodded and composed himself. 

 "I need to talk to you." He said. 

 "Ok, go for it," I said smiling at him. He looked so damn sexy when he was all serious. 

 "Alone." He said gesturing to the right, I looked down the corridor to see Aeris stood watching us.  

 "Hi Cloud!" She squeaked as she winked at him. I felt my fingers curl into a fist. 

 "I tried to get rid of her, I told her I needed to talk to you alone but she kept following me!" Cloud hissed under his breath. 

 "Ok, come in here." I said. I'm sure I saw Cloud gulp as he entered the steamy shower room with me. The steam had cleared a little and the room wasn't as hot. We closed the door and it was only with Cloud in there that I realised how small the room was. There was a shower and the door was almost directly in front of it. Cloud and I were pushed together and I blushed as I put my hands on his chest to separate us.  

 "Tifa…that was really hard," Cloud said looking down. 

 "Yeah it was." I said looking at his face with concern. I was so worried about him. 

 "I'm worried about you." He said. I looked up shocked. 

 "Why?" I whispered. "I'm not the one who has to tell that awful story. I said as I put my right hand to the back of his head. He looked into my eyes and I felt myself melt. I loved him so much. 

 "But it's probably brining it all back… I know it is for me, but some bits are kinda hazy." He said. 

 "I know what you mean" I said quietly looking down. I felt his hands travel around my waist and pull me in closer to him. I looked up in shock. 

 "I have to tell them… all the story Tifa, all of it. The worst is yet to come… I know it's hard… it's hard for me to tell it…" He said, was he seeking my permission or warning me? I wasn't sure.  

 "It's ok," I said cutting him off. "What happened that night, it was awful, it changed everything but we can do this." I whispered. 

 "We?" He said looking at me. 

 "Yes we, we are in this together, I will help you tell this part of the story as much as I can. You don't ever have to do anything alone Cloud, you have me now." I said as I stroked his cheek with my hand.  "Thank you." He whispered. One of his hands started to run up and down my back, the other stayed around my waist. Before I knew what was happening he was leaning in, his face was slowly coming towards mine. I closed my eyes, I knew there was nothing else I wanted more in the world than to be his…

 "What are you doing in there?!" Came Aeris' voice accompanied by banging on the door. Both of our heads turned towards the door and I groaned in disappointment as I rested my head against Cloud's strong chest. I loved him so much it was starting to hurt… I just wanted to be with him. "Come on we want to here the rest of the story you've had a long enough brake, silly Cloud! Come tell us the story!" Aeris demanded as she banged the door even harder. Cloud glared at the door. 

 "I'll go out and let you get changed," He said, anger in his voice despite him trying to conceal it. I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek. 

 "It's going to be ok Cloud"     


	13. Chapter 13

When Cloud left the room I leaned against the door trying to take in what had just happened. Would we have kissed if Aeris hadn't interrupted? Did this mean Cloud was in love with me? 

"Tifa come on Cloud won't start till you're here!" The angry voice of Aeris screeched as she banged the door. I rolled my eyes and got dressed. I quickly brushed my hair and tied it back and made my way back to the room where there others were waiting. I had promised to help Cloud tell his story and I planned to keep that promise. I came back in the room and everyone turned to look at me. 

"Sorry I took so long." I said blushing slightly. 

"It's fine Tifa.." Red said to me. I smiled as I went back to where I had been standing before. There was a silence for some time and Aeris broke it. 

"Tifa... Were you waiting outside then?" She asked,   
"...Yes." I whispered. I remembered getting so angry with the soldier for not letting me in. I had glared at him and sulked all the time we were outside together. He never spoke to me he just stood there and though I couldn't see through his helmet... I felt like he was watching me. It was un nerving in a way. 

"We returned to Nibelheim." Cloud started "Sephiroth confined himself to the Inn. He didn't even try to talk to me." he said sadly. I closed my eyes. This was it. I had to confront these memories no matter how painful.   
"Then all of a sudden he just disappeared, right?" I said.   
"We found him inside the biggest building in Nibelheim." Cloud said. I could remember the old building well. The older boys used to make up scary stories about the place. Some said a woman named Mariana had once lived there. Abandoned by her lover she sat alone in her wedding dress waiting for him to come back to her... but he never did. They used to say her ghost haunted the mansion and some claimed they had even seen her pale face looking out one of the windows. I had always imagined a Vampire lived there. In reality it had been abandoned for years but my father told me people from Shinra had once lived there. 

"The villagers used to call it the Shinra mansion." I said.   
"Long ago, people from Shinra used to live in that mansion..." Cloud said. As Cloud continued with his story I listened with fascination to how Sephiroth descended into madness but then when he started talking of the destruction of our hometown my tears started to fall. The next part of the story was the hardest part of all... the death of my father... 

_"Papa..."_

I knew my dad had gone after Sephiroth... he was so brave.   


__

"Sephiroth!?" 

I was the one who found him...  


__

"Did Sephiroth do this to you?"   


There was blood everywhere...  


_"Sephiroth... SOLDIER... Mako Reactor... Shinra..." _  


all over him... all over the floor...   


__

"I hate them all!" 

As I tore my eyes away from my father I saw it.... the murder weapon... the masamune. It lay there it's cold steel stained with my fathers blood and the blood of the other dwellers of the village... my village. My safe perfect little world was destroyed, the man who had protected me all my life dead. 

The masamune glistened as if it was mocking me. Grief was pushed aside and replaced with rage and the need for vengeance. I picked the sword up, I was amazed at how light is was. I wasn't thinking my legs just moved as if someone else was controlling them. I moved quickly but I was as quiet as possible. I knew I didn't stand a chance if we were to fight one on one, the only chance I has was surprise. Then I saw him there, his back to me, his long silver hair shining and I knew I had my chance. 

_"Mother, I'm here to see you. Please, open this door." _

Who was he talking to? The room was empty... just him and I.   


__

"How could you do that to Papa and all the townspeople?" 

I screamed at the top of my voice and not waiting for an answer I ran at him. He turned round looking a little surprised but not the least bit worried. His gloved hands had closed over mine before I realised what was happening. My chance had gone. We struggled for the sword. His strength was terrifying but I kept hold. I tried to get his hands of mine but I knew I was fighting a losing battle. I felt a tear run down my cheek the moment I lost my grip on the sword and felt it slip put of my hands. He held it high and looked me in the eyes smiling. He didn't say a word as he brought the sword down and at that moment I truly believed I was going to die... The next few seconds where a blur as I fell down the stairs...  


I bit my lip as I tried to remember what happened after that. For the first time Cloud's memory fitted perfectly with mine. My hero had saved me. When I had come round in the hospital I had assumed I was dreaming.

__

"...You promised..."

His soft blue eyes looked down at me... 

__

"You promised that you'd come......"

He looked so sad... 

_"when I was in trouble..." _  


__

He carried me in his arms and all I could feel was pain, but I knew I was safe....   


"And that's the end of my story." Cloud said quietly.   
"Wait a damn minute! That's it? No more?" Barret asked confused.   
Cloud moved his hands over his face 

"...I don't remember." He said. I bit my lip. I wanted to comfort him but how could I. I was just as distressed and confused as him.   
"What happened to Sephiroth?" Aeris asked. 

"In terms of skill, I couldn't have killed him." Cloud said and he sounded almost ashamed. 

"Official records state Sephiroth is dead. I read it in the newspaper." I said quietly. I had been looking for something about Cloud that day like every other day and there it was. An article declaring the death of Sephiroth. I was happy when I read about his death, I was only sorry he hadn't died at my hands. 

"Shinra, Inc. owns the newspapers, so you can't rely on that." Aeris said. There was another silence.   
"...I want to know the truth." Cloud said "I want to know what happened. I challenged Sephiroth and lived. Why didn't he kill me?" He asked.   
"...I'm alive, too." I said as I moved my hand over the area where he had struck me. Cloud's eyes fell on me and a look of concern crossed his face. 

"A lot of this doesn't make sense. What about Jenova? It was in the Shinra building, right?" Aeris asked.   
"Shinra shipped it from Nibelheim to Midgar." Cloud answered, his eyes were still fixed on me.   
"Did someone carry it out later? It was missing from the Shinra building." Aeris asked.   
"Sephiroth?" I said quietly.   
"Damn! None of this makes sense! I'm going, going, going, gone! And I'm leavin' the thinkin' to you!" Barret said annoyed. I wanted to do that too... just run away and not think. "Yo, Cloud! Let's get a move on!" Barret shouted as he made his way to the stairs.   
"Wait a sec" Cloud said, his eyes were still fixed on me. Maybe he wanted to talk to me. I looked down blushing a little.   
"Cloud, what's wrong? You just gonna stand there while Sephiroth heads for the Promised Land? I an't letting Sephiroth or no Shinra get to no Promised Land. If they do, then we're all screwed. Y'know what I'm sayin'?" Barret said annoyed. Cloud looked at him his eyes were shining ice blue.   
"Beautiful, just beautiful!" he said his voice dripping with sarcasm.   
"Jus' leave it to me!" Barret said as he made his way down the stairs. I groaned. Wouldn't those two ever get along?   
"Oh brother..." Cloud said. He looked down, his arms were crossed and he looked like he was thinking. I sighed, I wanted to comfort him so much. I loved him so much.... my hero. Or was he? Non of this made any sense. 

"Cloud?" I whispered finally. He looked up at me. "How bad was I after Sephiroth stabbed me?" I asked. 

"I thought you were a goner. ...I was so sad." he said quietly. We stayed looking at each other for some time. I was about to step forward to wrap my arms around him when I heard a voice. 

"I..." We both turned to see Aeris stood there. I had completely forgotten about her.   
"The Ancients... Cetra... Jenova... Sephiroth and myself..." She said more to herself than to us. She looked down at the floor absorbed in her own thoughts. We were all silent and it was killing me. I didn't want to think about this. I couldn't understand what was going on. 

"Let's go. Barret's waiting." I said quickly. Cloud nodded and Aeris made her way down the stairs looking more than a little distressed. Cloud and I followed.   
"What a fascinating story..." I heard Red say as we left. He had not left his spot on the bed the whole time. 

I stopped half way down the stairs. I was so confused and scared. 

"Tifa?" I heard Cloud say. He was behind me and I felt a strong hand on my back. I turned around to look at him. What I did next surprised me just as much as it did him. I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his hair. I held him so tight and so close. He wrapped his arms around me and held me just as tight. I didn't know what was going on but one thing I was now sure of. My hero had saved me. My lips found their way to his ear.

"Thank you for keeping your promise" I whispered. He responded by holding me even closer. 

"I won't ever let anything like that happen to you again." He said quietly. "I won't let you down." He said, his voice was not steady at all and I could feel him shaking slightly. I closed my eyes and held him tighter.

"It's going to be ok," I said "I'm a big girl now... and it's not just us this time. We have our friends with us. We can do this" I said, I knew I had to be strong. 

"Excuse me." A timid voice uttered. I turned to see a young woman stood behind us. I suddenly realised Cloud and I were blocking the stairs. I blushed and Cloud started to scratch the back of his head. 

"I'm sorry." I said smiling as Cloud and I moved to one side. We were silent for a few moments before I looked up at him. "So where to next oh great leader?" I said. He smiled. 

"Wherever Sephiroth is." He answered. 

"And he will be sorry when we find him" I said as I cracked my knuckles and grinned. Cloud then took hold of my hand and looked me in the eye. 

"I...I don't know what I would do without you..." he said and his cheeks turned a little red, as did mine. 

"... we had better get going..." I said as I moved my other hand to my cheek. 'Stop blushing!' I thought to myself. I kept hold of his hand and lead him down the stairs. We made our way to the door and Barret blocked our way. 

"Yo, Cloud. Here." He said as he handed Cloud the PHS. Next thing I knew Aeris came and pushed herself between Cloud and I as if I wasn't even there. My dislike for the girl suddenly grew. 

"With PHS, I can see you any time!" She said with a wink. Cloud gave a small nod and turned away. "Well, I'll be going." She said in a cheerful voice but she didn't seem to be moving. What the hell was she waiting for, a kiss?! Cloud again nodded and then turned back to Barret. 

"Awright then, we're outta here.." Barret said with a grin. He couldn't wait to get down to the fighting. Its what he is best at. We made our way out of the little village of Kalm. 

"So where to now?" I asked Cloud. 

"I spoke to a few of the villagers and they said they saw Sephiroth pass through here... he can't have got too far." I looked around the empty fields and let out a sigh. This was not going to be easy. We walked for some time looking for any sign of Sephiroth when we came across what looked like a farm. 

"What the hell?" Barret said. 

"Are they... chocobos?" I asked. I had only really seen them when travellers would ride into Niblehime on them. Of course there were never any in Midgar.

"Lets go see if the farmers know anything," Cloud said. I was glad we had finally come across some form of civilisation. All we had seen in the fields were monsters and grass... lots of it. 

"Cloud the chocobos are so cute" I said as I leaned over the fence to get a better look. Cloud smiled. 

"Careful Tifa those beaks are a lot more powerful than they look." He said as he stood next to me.

"Common fools! Lets get going!" Barret said in an impatient tone. He clearly didn't appreciate the cuteness of the chocobos like I did. I reached out and stroked one. 

"Hello you." I said. It looked at me for a few seconds it's head tilted to the side as if it were trying to decide what to make of me. 

"Wark!" was it's reply. I giggled and Cloud laughed as we left the chocobos and made our way to the little cottage. We wandered inside and a elderly looking man greeted us. 

"Thinking of crossing the marshes?" He said with a smile. Cloud and I looked at each other. 

"Yeah" Cloud said. 

"Hmm, then it'll probably be safer for you to get a Chocobo. That way you can zip through the marshes with the Chocobo. It's the only way to avoid being attacked by the Midgar Zolom." He said, his tone menacing. Was he just trying to scare us?   
"Midgar Zolom...?" Cloud asked.   
"It's a serpent-like creature over 30 feet tall!!" He said as he stood on his toes and extended his right hand above him. It picks up on footsteps that enter the marshes..." He said quietly, "And then, BAM!! It attacks!!!" He shouted and jumped at me causing me to jump. I suddenly decided that I did not like this man. "To avoid that, buy a Chocobo at the Choco Bill and Choco Billy Chocobo Farm." He said in a cheerful tone. "To purchase a Chocobo, please talk to my grandson. He's in the Chocobo stables at the far right end of the farm."He said grinning at us. He hadn't really left us with much choice! Cloud and I looked at each other. 

"Hmm, then, I guess that's that." Cloud said as he shrugged his shoulders slightly. We got out of the cottage rather quickly and made our way to the stable. 

"What a creepy man," I whispered. Cloud smiled and put his arm around me. 

"Don't tell me the brave Tifa Lockheart is afraid of an overgrown snake!" He said with a laugh. I blushed a little and smiled. 

"Me? I don't think so! ... but we should still get a chocobo... just in case you and Barret can't handle him of course!" I added quickly. Cloud laughed and playfully pushed me into the stable. The smell inside was not the most pleasant of smells but I guess thats the price you pay when running a farm. Suddenly we were approached by a young man in a cowboy hat. 

"Do you want a Chocobo?" He said smiling at us. 

"Mmm...... Give me one." Cloud answered. I smiled, Cloud's peoples skills could certainly do with some work but I still loved him.   
"You old folks are out of luck!" He said. My eyes widened, I was only twenty and this guy was not much younger than me! My hands instantly went to my cheeks and I started to wonder if travelling had taken it's toll on me.   
"Old folks...?" Cloud said sounding annoyed.   
"We're all out of Chocobos. I'm taking care of those ones out there for someone else." He said ignoring Cloud's comment. I suddenly didn't like this guy either. "You know, if you really want a Chocobo, you should go out and catch one." He said. He then carefully explained how to catch a Chocobo. 'There has to be something in it for him,' I thought to myself. 

"Well then, shall we get down to business?" He said with a grin. "I'll sell you the 'Chocobo Lure' for 2000 gil, right now. You want it?" He said in a cheerful tone. I rolled my eyes. I knew it. "Thanks!" He said as Cloud handed over the money. "It wouldn't hurt to buy some 'Greens' either." He added. I started to wander the stable before I got too annoyed when I was approached by a girl. 

"Wasn't it really expensive?" She whispered to me. I nodded and glared at the young man. "But don't be mad at my brother or Grandpa." She said as she put her hand on my arm. "Ever since dad and mom died, it's been like this..." She whispered. 

"Oh..." I said suddenly feeling a little guilty. "I'm sorry." I said. 

"It's ok... I just wanted you to know why..." She forced a smile and went back to her work. 

"Tifa?" I turned to see Cloud standing by the door. "Come on lets get going." he said extending his hand to me. I took his hand and we made our way outside. "Tifa, whats wrong? What did that girl say to you?" He asked looking concerned. He stopped and put his hand under my chin tilting it up a little so I was looking at him. 

"She just said her brother and grandfather are only like that because of her parents death." I said. "I just feel a bit guilty for taking such an instant dislike to them." I said looking down. "Cloud's hands moved to my shoulders. 

"It's ok Tifa, you weren't to know. And death changes people, we both know that." He said. "Try to cheer up yeah? They'll be fine." He kissed my forehead and I smiled a little. "Damn!" Cloud said suddenly. 

"Whats wrong?" I asked. 

"I forgot to ask if they has seen Sephiroth." he said as we stopped outside the Old man's cottage. 

"Well lets go in and ask him now." I said smiling. We entered the cottage and the old man was sat at the table. He turned to look at us when he heard us enter. 

"By the way," He started before we had a chance to ask anything. "There was another person heading towards the Marshes." He said. We all looked at each other. "Without a Chocobo, the Midgar Zolom probably got him. It was a man in a Black Cape." He said. My eyes widened. 

"We should be so lucky." I murmured. It was then that the mirror next to me caught my eye. I looked in it and pushed a lose strand of hair behind my ear. Old folks indeed I looked fine... I hoped. A worried look crossed my face, it was then that Cloud came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. 

"You look beautiful." He whispered as his lips brushed against my ear. He then smiled at me in the mirror and moved towards the door. I tried to hide it but a big grin came across my face. 

"Thank you for your help." I said to the old man as we left to cottage and I practically bounced out of the door as I was in unusually high spirits.   


  


  
  



	14. Chapter 14

"Wark!" The Chocobo said sounding a little distressed. I stroked it gently, 

"Don't be afraid," I said to it.

"Yo Tifa you do know they can't understand you?!" Barret said. I laughed at Barret as he struggled to control his chocobo. He had one and Cloud and I were sat on one. I was sitting behind Cloud. 

"And yet again you get to drive." I said as I poked him in the back gently. Cloud laughed, 

"Next time Tifa, next time." He said between laughs. I wrapped my arms around his waist tight. 

"Don't think I won't hold you to that Mr Strife." I said as I leaned my head against his back and sighed quietly. This was so... nice. 

"Wark!" The chocobo cried as it suddenly started to move quickly forcing me to sit up straight and hold onto Cloud even tighter. 

"T.. the man wasn't kidding about these being swift on their feet!" I said. 

"Yeah, just don't let go of me I doubt falling of one of these is much fun." Cloud said as he put a hand over mine and gave it a quick squeeze. 

We kept going until the mouth of a cave was visible, our chocobo suddenly stopped as did Barrets. 

"I don't think they want to go there Cloud, lets let them go, we passed the marshes safely." I said. 

"Yeah we can go on foot from now on." Cloud said has he jumped of the chocobo, he then helped me down. The second I was of it the chocobo ran away. "I guess he didn't think very much of us," I said with a laugh. Suddenly a horrible smell hit me. 

"Yo whats that stink?!" Barret said with a disgusted look on his face. 

"It..." I started, "it smells like..." 

"Blood." Cloud cut me of. He pulled his sword out and put an arm around me. "Stay close to me ok? He may still be here." He said while looking around. We started to move closer to the cave the smell of blood getting stronger with every step. Then we saw it, the Midgar Zolom impaled. We stopped dead in our tracks stunned. 

"Did Sephiroth... do this...?" Cloud finally managed to ask. 

"Amazing..." I whispered. 

"This Sephiroth guy's pretty strong, I'd say." Barret said. He sounded just as shocked as I felt. I had always known Sephiroth was strong, but this scared me. I knew if we had battled the Zolom ourselves we probably wouldn't have survived against something that big and strong... how did one man defeat it? 

"We have to keep moving!" Cloud said after pulling himself together. He put his sword back and took a tight hold of my hand. 

When we entered the cave the climate change was quite dramatic. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered. The warmth of the sun didn't get to this place. We wandered though the maze, jumping at every sound, still unnerved by the sight of the dead Zolom when suddenly... 

"Just a second!" We looked up to see a bald man in a Turks suit and dark sunglasses... he seemed familiar. 

"Wh, who are you?!" Barret asked, he was clearly startled to see another person in the caves. 

"Do you know who I am?" The man said with a grin, it was hard to tell through his sunglasses but I felt like he was looking directly at me. 'I know him... I know that I know him but I can't remember how!' I thought to myself. 

"From the Turks, right?" Cloud said, he did not look amused.   
"Well if you know, this won't take long." The man answered. He looked a little relieved. "It's difficult to explain what the Turks do..." he continued.   
"Kidnapping, right?" Cloud said glaring at the man a little. 

"To put it negatively... you could say that." he said sounding a little annoyed. "...But, that's not all there is to it, anymore..." he suddenly stopped and looked around him then at the floor. What was going on? Had the Turks become more than Shinra's delivery boys?   
"Sir!" A woman's voice called. We all turned quickly to see a young woman with short blonde hair stood on the ledge above us. She was also wearing a Turk suit, I didn't know they let women join the Turks. I smiled inside and secretly hoped she would show them we women are just as good at fighting as men. 

"It's all right, Rude! I know you don't like speeches, so don't force it!" She said smiling at him.   
"...Then Elena, explain." Rude said before looking down at the floor again. He seemed so shy...   
"I'm the newest member of the Turks, Elena." The girl started sounding a little nervous, "Thanks to what you did to Reno, we're short of people."She continued. I couldn't help but smile. Reno got what he deserved! ....We used to be friends... "...Although, because of that, I got promoted to the Turks,...." she continued. She was silent for a moment probably thinking it would have been better if she hadn't said that. "In any case, our job is to find out where Sephiroth is headed." she said in a more firm tone, "And to try and stop you every step of the way." she added. A look of distress suddenly crossed her face and she turned away from us, "Wait a minute, it's the other way around. You're the ones that are getting in our way." She mumbled to herself. Cloud and I exchanged glances, she wasn't a threat at all, in fact I felt sorry for her.   
"...Elena. You talk too much." Came a weary sounding voice. I turned to see Tseng, I glared at him. I didn't like him at all!   
"Mr. Tseng!?" Elena said sounding a little alarmed. The poor girl clearly wanted to make a good impression on her new boss.   
"No need to tell them about our orders." Tseng said as patiently as he could but there was still irritation in his voice. I was guessing he found the poor girl a little annoying.   
"Sorry... Tseng." Elena said and she looked at the floor. She sounded so upset I was even more annoyed with Tseng for not being more sensitive towards her.   
"I thought I gave you other orders." he said, "Now go. Don't forget to file your report." he ordered her.   
"Oh! Right!" She said sounding a lot more enthusiastic than I would have. The poor girl seemed to really want to prove herself. "Very well, Rude and I will go after Sephiroth, who's heading for Junon Harbour!" She said trying to sound professional but it didn't really go with her young and girly sounding voice. Cloud nudged me at the mention of Junon. That was where we had to go.   
"...Elena. You don't seem to understand." Tseng said, he moved his hands to his temples and the irritation in his voice grew.   
"Oh! I'm, I'm sorry..." Elena said and she started to blush. 

"...Go. Don't let Sephiroth get away." He said trying his best to stay calm. I bit my lip, that was one professional relationship that was not going to work out.   
"Yes sir!" Rude and Elena said in union. Elena left pretty quickly but as Rude was going he stopped and looked directly at me 

"...Reno said he wanted to see you after the injuries you gave him healed." he said raising an eyebrow, "He wants to show his affection for you all... with a new weapon." He said as he turned to leave. It suddenly hit me, I knew this guy... he used to come to my bar with Reno sometimes. Reno and I would talk but Rude was always in the background and hardly ever said anything... 

I was still absorbed in my thoughts when I heard the voice of Tseng. 

"Is um Aeris not with you?" He asked. I looked up to see his blushing face. Did he like her?! You wouldn't be able to tell from the way he hit her last time he saw her! 

"Shes with the others!" Cloud snapped. 

"Oh... then give her my regards." He said quickly before turning and leaving. I looked at Cloud. 

"His attitude towards her sure has changed." Cloud said. 

"I wonder what happened between them when Shinra had her..." I said quietly. I suddenly felt someone poke me in the back.

"C'mon fools we gotta get goin to Junon!" Barret said.

"Yeah," Cloud said. "At least we don't have to worry about Sepiroth till we get there," he said as we started moving. It was pretty clear that he was worried about what would happen when we actually found Sephiroth. I moved next to Cloud and took hold of his hand, he looked down at me and gave me a small smile. 

"It will be ok you know," I said as I squeezed his hand gently. He gave another weak smile and put his arm around me as we continued walking. 

Our long walk to Junon had begun, I was happy to be out of that cold cave and back in the sunshine. We had decided to cut through the forests, there would be more monsters but it would be quicker and we were pretty sure there was nothing we couldn't handle. 

Things were going well when suddenly we came across a young girl! 'What on earth is a girl her age doing in the forest all alone?' I wondered to myself. My question was soon answered when she attacked us! I felt a little wrong hitting someone younger than me who I had no quarrel with but it had to be done. When she was knocked out we stood around her unsure of what to do next. 

"Cloud, do you know her?" I asked. Cloud just shook his head. 

"Wassup with that broad?" Barret asked. The girl opened her eyes and sat up clutching her head. She looked dazed. 

"Man...... I can't believe I lost..." She said. I smiled, I know I would have been the same. She looked up at us and leapt to her feet. "You spiky-headed jerk! One more time, let's go one more time!" She shouted at Cloud. Cloud folded his arms and shook his head.   
"Not interested," He said dryly. A look of annoyance crossed her face and she started making punching motions trying to show of her moves. 

"Thinkin' of running away? Stay and fight! FIGHT, I said!" She shouted. Cloud didn't move. "C'mon...... What's the matter?" She asked looking a little bemused. "You're pretty scared of me, huh!?" She said grinning.   
"......petrified" Cloud said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He clearly didn't want to fight someone he knew he could easily beat as well, it wasn't fair. Unfortunately the girl didn't seem to pick up on the sarcasm.   
"Hmm, just as I thought. What do you expect with my skills?" She said looking very pleased with herself. I put my hand over my mouth to hide my smile. She certainly was very enthusiastic, I would give her that. "Good luck to you too. If you feel up to it, we can go another round. Later!" She said and she started to move away from us then she stopped and turned to look at us. "I'm really gonna leave! REALLY!" She said. It was pretty clear she wanted us to stop her, maybe she was lonely. I looked at Cloud, he was still glaring at her. He then turned and met my gaze, he knew what I wanted straight away and shook his head. I mouthed the word please and smiled at him. He smiled back and sighed. 

"Wait a second!" He called. We all made our way closer to the girl. 

"What is it, you still have somethin' for me?" She asked with a grin. "......Hmmm. So is that it? I know you want my help because I'm so good!" She said looking very pleased with herself. "You want me to go with you?" She asked smiling. Cloud bit his lip and looked at me, I nodded my head gently. 

"......That's right" he said, his tone gave away his true feelings on the matter but luckily she didn't seem to notice. 

"Heh heh... thought so. You put me in a spot. Hmm, what should I do?" She thought for a second. "But if you want me that bad, I can't refuse..." she said with a grin. "All right! I'll go with you!" She said smiling. Cloud clenched his fists and gave me a dangerous look. 

"......Let's hurry on" he said through gritted teeth. He then took me firmly by the hand and started to pull me of. Something told me I was in trouble. 

"Huh? Hey... HEY!" Came the voice of the girl. "Wait! I haven't even told you my name......" She said sounding a little offended. "I'm Yuffie! Good to meetcha!" 

"Cloud you are being so rude!" I said as I tried to get his hand of mine. He stopped and looked at me. 

"I'm sorry, she just annoys me." He said. I smiled at him. 

"Most people seem to annoy you at first Cloud, she probably isn't so bad once you get to know her, and we couldn't leave her out here all alone." I said as I rubbed his hand with my thumb. He sighed and smiled. 

"You have such a big heart Tifa." he said as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him. I put my arms around him and held him close. 

"Thats so sweet," I said as. He brought a hand up and started to stroke my hair, he opened his mouth to say something when... 

"GET A ROOM YOU TWO!" Came the voice of Yuffie. Laughter followed, Cloud glared at her but I just giggled quietly. 

"Don't be too hard on her ok?" I said as I put my finger on his lip. He smiled, 

"I'll try." he said as he ran his hands up and down my waist. He then moved towards Yuffie. "We have another party, they won't be far behind us, a young girl and a... well a... you will know them when you see them!" He said as he scratched the back of his head. "You travel with them." He said. 

"Humph! Can't wait to get rid of me eh?!" She said as she stomped of. She stopped beside me. "Your boyfriend is sooooo moody!" she said to me. I blushed a little. 

"He um isn't my boyfr..." I started. 

"Yeah yeah you can't fool me! I may only be sixteen but I know about these things." She said smiling at me. I blushed a little more. 

"Don't worry about Cloud, he will warm to you once he gets to know you." I said desperately trying to change the subject. 

"Hey how could he NOT warm to me?" She said grinning. "So tell me about the other people? Are they as much fun as Mr moody or as scary as Mr gunarm?" She asked. 

"Well I don't know either of the other two all that well, Red seems nice but he keeps himself to himself a lot and um Aeris..." I bit my lip trying to think of something nice to say. "She um.. she likes flowers a lot." I said weakly. Yuffie raised an eyebrow. 

"What a fun trip this will be!" She said. 

"Hey don't worry, like I said I don't know them very well yet." I said smiling. I felt a hand on my back and turned to see Cloud. 

"We had better get going Tifa." He said gently. 

"Ok," I turned to look at Yuffie, "See you in Junon." I said smiling. 

"Yeah see ya later Tif and thanks for being so welcoming, unlike some people!" She said looking at Cloud. With that she ran of. Cloud shook his head and wrapped an arm around me. 

"Heart of gold!" He whispered into my ear. 


	15. Chapter 15

I lay down on the soft bed, it was very kind of the woman to let us use her house. I yawned and looked at the ceiling. I was so sleepy, so much had happened since we had arrived in Junon. We had saved the life of a little girl today, it should feel good to be a hero but seeing her like that, not knowing if she was going to live or die... it had really shaken me. 

I yawned again and I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open. All that walking had exhausted me and all I wanted right now was to drift into blissful sleep... 

"I love you," Cloud whispered into my ear as he kissed it. "I want to be with you forever." he said as he looked into my eyes and then started to kiss my neck. I wrapped my arms around him tight as I felt his kisses become more passionate. 

"Who would have thought life could be so perfect..." I whispered as I felt my top being lifted over my head. The white fabric was soft against my cheeks. When the top was of I opened my eyes only to be greeted by a pair of shining blue eyes that did not belong to Cloud. Panic filled me and I backed away. "Wh... where did Cloud go???" I asked distressed. The man with spiky black hair grinned at me as he extended a hand to me. 

"Is that how you thank your hero Tifa? Come closer." He whispered, his grin was menacing. 

"No! Leave me alone! I don't know you!" I shouted as I turned and ran but I felt like I was running through water and was moving very slowly, the more I struggled the more difficult it became to run. I felt a hand on my arm and I was turned roughly to be brought face to face with Sephiroth. He squeezed my arm so tight it hurt. I called out in pain and tried to get his hand of me. 

"No escape from this mess you have found yourself in Lockheart!" He said and he started to laugh, his laughter got louder and louder and I felt myself sink to the ground in agony covering one of my ears with my free hand. 

"Stop..." I whispered, "make it stop!"

... I sat up in bed breathing hard. I looked around the room in distress. In the bed next to me Cloud lay asleep, there was no one else in the room. I covered my face with my shaking hands as I tried to pull myself together. Was that... music? I got out of bed and looked out of the window, I saw a few Shinra soldiers run past and there was definitely music being played... 'I had better wake Cloud' I thought to myself pushing aside memories of my horrible dream. I walked over to his bed and looked at him, his face told me he was having a bad dream. I put my hand on his cheek. He stirred a little, 

"Tifa..." he mumbled quietly. I pulled my hand away unsure of what to do next, was he awake? 

"Cloud?" I whispered. He didn't answer and his eyes were still closed, was he having a dream about me? I frowned, the dream didn't seem to be a good one. 

"Hey, wake up." I whispered shaking him gently. He didn't move. "Wake up, Cloud!" I said a little louder. He opened his eyes and looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face. He brought both of his hands up and touched my face as if to see if I was real or not. I smiled at him and he smiled back, he was so perfect... 

He got out of bed and stood up, never taking his eyes of me.   
"Tifa... When Sephiroth and I went to Nibelheim, where were you?" he asked looking at me hard. My heart started racing, 'you never came back to Niblehime... or am I the one that's going crazy??' 

"...We saw each other, right?" I said trying to not sound as distressed as I felt.   
"The other time." He said as he put a hand out as if to take mine but I stepped back.   
"No..." I said quickly... the man from my dream... "it was 5 years ago. I don't remember." I said quickly as I shook my head trying to rid myself from those confusing memories. "But, something seems strange outside." I said getting back to why I had woken Cloud up in the first place. "Cloud, come quick." I said as I quickly made my way to the door. I had to pull myself together, until I figured out what was going on I couldn't keep getting so distressed every time the past was mentioned. 

By the time I reached the others Cloud had caught up with me, he came up to me and put an arm around my waist.

"Tifa?" He asked, looking confused.

I looked into his eyes, it broke my heart to see him so confused...I wanted to help him but how could I when I didn't understand. 

"Doesn't it seem a little strange? Everything getting so noisy all of a sudden?" I asked desperate to change the subject. Cloud tilted his head to the side and seemed to notice the noise for the first time. 

"What's this loud music? It's giving me a headache!" Yuffie said annoyed. She rubbed her eyes and yawned telling I wasn't the only one who had been woken up by the music. 

"Does this have something to do with the Shinra?" Red asked. I looked around me, there were certainly a few Shinra soldiers running about. I hoped non of them recognised us, we would have quiet a fight on our hands if they did. Aeris came over to Cloud and tapped his arm, she gave him a big grin and fluttered her eyelashes. I looked away in anger and noticed Yuffie was looking at me. I quickly tried to force a smile. 

"I heard that girl regained consciousness." Aeris said. I looked at Cloud, he simply nodded his head and started making his way up the stairs to see the girl but before he was half way up the door opened and Priscilla came out smiling. I also smiled, she was ok, I was so glad. 

"Are you all right now?" Cloud asked. 

"Umm... thanks for helping..." The girl said blushing. Cloud came down the stairs and stood with me and the girl followed. She looked at us all in turn.  
"I'm sorry, I mistook you for one of those Shinra, Inc...." She sad blushing again   
"That's all right." Cloud said smiling. I looked at him, he was surprisingly good with kids... 'ok Tifa you have to stop thinking so far ahead!' I mentally scolded myself.   
"I'll give you something SPECIAL! It's an amulet! Take good care of it, OK?" The little girl said as she handed Cloud something that looked like materia. Cloud saw me looking at it and handed it to me. I turned the little red orb over in my hand, I could feel its power, it was definitely materia of some sorts. Cloud put one hand under mind and touched the materia with the other. 

"I think its a summon," he said.

"Yeah summon materia is red, although I don't know my materia all that well yet." I said. Cloud laughed and I looked up from the materia into his eyes. 

"You always did prefer to fight with your fists." He said as he brought a hand up and caressed my cheek. It was my turn to blush.   
"What's that music? It sure sounds lively." Barret asked Priscilla.   
"I heard they're rehearsing the reception for the new Shinra president." She answered.   
"Rufus!?" Barret said. He turned to me and grinned. "I gotta pay my respects." He said. I laughed at the thought of poor Rufus when Barret got hold of him.   
"Grandpa and Grandma told me this beach was beautiful when they were small. But after the Shinra built that city above, the sun stopped shining here, and the water got polluted... I was raised on that story and hate Shinra so much, I could die!" She said quietly. I bit my lip... I understood.   
"You think Rufus is thinking about crossing the ocean from here, too? What? Does that mean Sephiroth already crossed the ocean?" Aeris asked.   
"Cloud, didn't you finish Rufus off?" Red asked, all eyes were on Cloud. He looked down ashamed. I glared at the others and squeezed Cloud's hand gently. It wasn't his fault Rufus ran away!   
"We gotta get to the town up there... Mebbe we could climb the tower?" Barret said quickly changing the subject. I gave him a grateful look on Cloud's behalf.   
"No! No! There's a high voltage current running underneath the tower. Don't wander near it, it's dangerous!" Priscilla said quickly, she was silent for a moment, "But... you might be able to if Mr. Dolphin helps you. Follow me!" She said as she ran towards the beach.   
"High voltage tower... I guess this means Cloud'll have to do it." I said giving Cloud my sweetest smile.   
"Yeah, better leave it to Cloud!" Aeris added.   
"We're counting on you, Cloud." Red said with a grin.   
"Hey!!" Cloud said a look for horror on his face. We all laughed and quickly walked away form Cloud leaving him standing there looking rather bemused. "Wait a second!" Cloud shouted. 

Aeris suddenly pulled me to one side.

"Do you think Cloud will be ok??" She asked. I laughed a little, 

"Yeah he is a survivor, he will find a way." I said as I smiled at him. "I'm only sorry it has to be done, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a nice normal life. Don't you just hate this?" I asked. 

"You're probably right." She said completely ignoring my question. 'Hmmm thats the last time I try to make conversation with you.' I thought to myself. 

I felt two arms around my waist and turned my head to see it was Cloud who had hold of me. 

"Trying to get rid of me or something?" He asked raising an eyebrow. I smiled, turned and hugged him tight. He seemed stunned for a second then wrapped his arms around me. 

"I know you can do it." I whispered into his ear. I let go of him and smiled, he smiled back at me. 

"Thanks." He said as he scratched the back of his head and grinned. He then made his way to the beach. I watched him go and sighed, 'god I love him' I thought to myself. I suddenly became aware that all of the group were looking at me, I had completely forgotten about them! I could feel my face turn red as I looked at the floor.   
"I'm gonna go after him and see how he gets up there." Barret said quickly. I sighed in relief, thankful that the attention had been taken of me. 

"You know Tifa you really shouldn't do things like that, people will talk and you wouldn't want to get yourself a reputation now would you?" Aeris said and with that she turned and walked of, her nose in the air. 

"Bitch." Said a voice next to me. I turned to see Yuffie stood beside me. "You ok Tifa? Don't listen to her she is just annoyed that Cloud won't give her the time of day!" She said with a grin. I smiled at her, 

"Thanks Yuffie." I said as I sat down on the steps leading to Pricilla's house. Yuffie came and sat down beside me. 

"You know the whole way all she talked about was Cloud this and Cloud that she drove me and Red crazy! Your so lucky you didn't have to travel with her!" Yuffie said. 

"But she only just met Cloud..." I said quietly. 

"Yeah well it doesn't seem to matter how long shes known the guy she wants to add him to her list of conquests." Yuffie said as she ran a finger along the edge of her shurikan. I bit my lip and looked down... what if she took Cloud away from me, the thought scared me so much. 

"Hey don't look so worried." Yuffie said as she put a hand on mine. "I'm not into women or anything but if I was Cloud I know I would rather you than miss pink and red dress. I mean EW!" Yuffie said as she pulled a face. I laughed. 

"Thanks." I said smiling at her. 

"Are you ok Tifa, you seemed troubled when you joined us earlier." Red said as he approached us. 

"Oh... it's nothing... just bad dreams." I said smiling at him, I didn't want to think about my horrible dream or about Cloud's question when I had woken him up. 

"Hmmmm when we get to my home I will see if there is anything I can give you for that. My grandfather will know of something." He said. I smiled at him, so this is what it felt like to have friends... I hadn't felt like this for so long. I had gone from being the most popular in the village to being alone... it was horrible, I had missed this feeling.. the feeling that you had other people to hold you up and look out for you... it's definitely something we all need. 

"C'mon guys Cloud got to the top fine we can do it too!" Barret said with a grin. We all got up and made our way to the beach. On the way Barret nudged me, "hehe I didn't see you as the forward type Tifa." he said causing me to blush. 

"I'm.. um... not normally..." I said and I could feel myself getting redder by the second, so much for keeping my feelings a secret! 

"You really like him huh?" Barret said as he looked at me, I really didn't want to answer that so I just looked at the floor, why was everyone so interested in Cloud and I all of a sudden anyway?! He laughed and put an arm around me. "Well as soon as I've figured out if he is good enough for ya Tif I will let you know." he said in a cheerful tone and embarrassed as I was I couldn't stop the smile that crossed my face and the words "Thanks Barret." coming out.   
  



	16. Chapter 16

"I don't like this" I whispered to Barret as I straightened my soldiers uniform. I looked down at myself, I hated the way I looked dressed like this. This uniform disgusted me... I blamed the owners of this uniform for everything. 

"It's ok Tifa, blue suits you" Yuffie laughed as she tucked my hair in from the back making me smile. 

"Shhhh! You wanna get us caught?!" Barret hissed. Yuffie responded by sticking her tongue out at him before turning to help Red. 

"I don't like this any more than you Tifa but it's the only way we get gettin on this boat without getting caught." he said regretfully. I tugged on one of my sleeves a little. The uniform was far to big for me and smelt funny. 

"Can't was just kill them all?" I mumbled annoyed. 

"Haha and this was the girl tellin me not to bust into the Shinra building?!" Barret said as he slapped my back. "Right everyone are we all ready?" He said looking round at everyone. "Hmmm ok I guess you all pass for soldiers... er Red... try to um stay hidden." He said. Red groaned a little.

"This is so humiliating!" He mumbled. 

"It's ok," I said kneeling beside him, "I hate dressing like this too... I hate soldier I was even in Avalanche." I said with a smile. 

"YOU were in Avalanche???" Red said surprised. "Haha I heard that name spoken of with such contempt when I was living back in the lab. Oh this makes so much sense now... Barret was 'the tough leader with the gun arm' and you were 'the hot girl that could beat men up!'" He said with a laugh. 

"Haha they used to say that about us?! No way!" I said laughing. 

"Alright enough chit chat lets go!" Barret said. "Spread out and try to blend in." he ordered. I looked up at Barret to see him now dressed in a Sailors uniform. I bit my lip hard trying not to laugh. 

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Yuffie laughed and laughed pointing at Barret. He glared at her, 

"It's all there was left! Now MOVE!" He shouted. 

I walked out onto the ship, the place was crawling with soldiers and sailors. It suddenly occurred to me... were there any female soldiers?! I suddenly became very nervous and pulled my helmet down a little more. I hadn't ever seen any female soldiers ever... or heard of any.... oh crap! Ok ok not a problem just um think like a man... don't wiggle your ass so much... don't look at anyone... or no wait is it better if I look and act all intimidating... but then I might get into a fight and that would be bad and oh crap! 

"Alright mate." A soldier said to me, I looked at his face he had his helmet of and I instantly recognized him! He was the guy that blew the whistle on me when we were in the Shinra building! I looked down quickly. 

"Uh... yeah I'm um good." I said in the most manly voice I could muster. 

"The general was going on about how we have to stay alert in case that Avalanche scum show their faces." He said 

"Oh uh yeah." I mumbled desperately wanting to get away. 

"But ya know they so won't dare especially not after last time we chased them right out of Shinra HQ." he said and he laughed. I clenched my fists. 'Stay calm don't hit him don't hit him don't hit hi...'

"Oh and ya know I came face to face with the legendary Tifa Lockheart!" He said with a grin "Ya know the one with the big..." 

"I know!" I cut in quickly. By this time my nails were digging into the palms of my hands. 

"Yeah well I had her begging for mercy ya know and she even offered herself to me if I didn't kill her! I was gonna have her on the floor of Shinra HQ but then the other soldiers came and she ran away! Haha!" He said as he nudged me. I took a deep breath. 

"Oh... right... coz um, I heard she kicked your ass... and the other soldiers found you crying on the floor. Thats what everyone is saying... anyway I gotta go, see ya... wimpy!" And with a satisfied grin I turned and walked of but I still heard the scream of 

"THEY ARE SAYING WHAT?!" behind me. 

I moved quickly doing my best to get lost in the big crowd of people. 'Thats it Tifa just don't talk to anyone else!'

"Oi you slacker!" An angry voice shouted and I felt someone push me hard." 

"Ow! I er mean um yes sir!" I said standing up straight. 

"Where are you supposed to be?! I saw you wandering round like this is some sort of holiday!" He said as he circled me and looked me up and down. 

"I... um... er... um..." 

"Oh that is enough soldier! What are you a woman?!" He shouted and with that he shoved a telescope into my hands. "You can be look out for today." He pointed to a raised platform, "You climb up there and sound the alarm if you see any non Shinra ship, if that isn't to difficult for the little girl?!" He shouted. 

"No sir." I mumbled as I climbed up to the platform. God I wanted to get rid of every last one of them! I got on top of the platform and looked around me. 'Hmmm perfect I can see everything from here.' I thought to myself. Suddenly I felt a jolt and the boat started moving. 'I hope Cloud got on ok...' 

"Hey handsome!" I turned to see a sailor stood behind me. I wasn't sure what to do at first. 

"Uh er you mean me?" I said in my rather un convincing male voice. 

"Yeah you sweetie I watched you come up here and I know a man who walks like that can't be straight!" he said as he slapped my ass. My eyes widened and I quickly tried to move away form him. 

"I er have to go um over here now..." I mumbled looking as far down as I could. 

"hehe a shy one are you? I find that so cute whats your name?" he said with a grin. 'A name? Shit... I need a name... a boys name.... a name that isn't Tifa...' I thought panicking. 

"Er my name is um... Cloud." I said quickly. 

"aaawww what a sweet name," he said with a grin. 

"Um yes but I'm er taken... sorry." I mumbled desperately trying to get rid of him. 

"ooohhhh sorry love I didn't realise, well if you change your mind I'll be around this ship somewhere." he said with a wink and with that he left me. I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned on the rail. Thank god that was over if he had got any closer he would have realised I was a girl for sure! Just as I was starting to relax and enjoy watching the sea a shadow fell over me and I heard a cough. I froze worried that it was that horrible officer again, I slowly turned around to see a soldier stood behind me his arms folded. I quickly stood straight. 

"Yes sir! Everything quiet, sir!" I said, to my surprise the other soldier laughed. I looked into his eyes and couldn't believe I hadn't realised who it was. I smiled at him and he smiled back. I just wanted to touch him so much but knew I couldn't. I leaned in a little and whispered.   
"...But, you know what? I really hate this uniform. Uniforms, soldiers, war. I hate 'em all." I said looking into his eyes. "They take away the things and people you love..." I said but suddenly wished I hadn't. One of the main reasons I hated soldier was because they had taken my Cloud away... the one I loved. Cloud's eyes widened and I looked down blushing. 'Fuck! Quickly change the subject... he can't know... he can't know how I feel he might reject me.' I thought to myself. "I wish they'd all disappear. Right, Cloud?" I said quickly. Cloud was silent for a moment and just kept looking at me as if he were reflecting on what I had just said. 

"Yeah....." he finally said and put his hand on my shoulder. 

"You're right!" I said with a smile, I was so glad he agreed and didn't want to go back to his old life. "Uh, yes sir, I'll continue my watch sir! Hee hee...." I giggled and he smiled at me and gave me a nod before climbing down from my little platform. I let out a small sigh. 'Yes I do love you and I'm so gonna tell you one day...' I thought to myself as I leaned on the rail and watched him wander round the ship. 

"Tifa?" A voice whispered quietly. I turned to see Yuffie stood behind me. "Tifa I really don't feel so good." She said holding onto her stomach. 

"You get motion sickness?" I asked as I put my hand on her shoulder to steady her a little. 

"mmmhmmm" She said as she keeled over a little. 

"Um it's ok I er have a um potion if that will help." I said as I got it out of my items bag. 

"Uh I'll try anything!" She said as she lifted her helmet a little and drank it down. 

"You poor thing," I said, "Look sit down and relax and hopefully it will pass." I said to her. Yuffie took my advice and sat down quickly. I once again leaned over the rail trying to spot Cloud or Barret but I couldn't see them... I suddenly started to worry, what if they had been caught? As if to aid my fears a siren suddenly sounded.

"Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!" The voice announced. 

"Shit!" I exclaimed turning to Yuffie.   
"I repeat. Suspicious character found on board! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!" He said. I quickly started to pull Yuffie to her feet. 

"We have to find the others they might be in trouble." I said as I watched all the soldiers scatter. 

Yuffie and I made our way to the main deck where to my relief we were joined by cloud and the others.   
"Everyone all right!?" I asked 

"You all right!?" Barret asked at the same time as me. I smiled at him, we both had that leader instinct that made you want to check the team was all safe before anything.  
"Huh?" Was Aeris' response. I sighed and looked around me.   
"Everyone's here... right?" I asked as I silently did a head count.   
"Hey, wait. You don't think that suspicious character is....Sephiroth!?" Barret asked. I froze, Sephiroth here on the ship... were there was no escape?! 

"Really!?" I asked nervously.   
"How the hell am I supposed to know!?" Barret answered. I was slightly relieved Barret didn't know... as much as I wanted my revenge I didn't want to face him either... not after last time.   
"....Let's find out." Cloud murmured. I looked away, non of this felt right, everything was so still there was no one on the deck anymore and even the water under the boat seemed to have stopped.   
"It's the most logical thing to do. Then, who's going to go?" Red asked. 

Cloud looked at Barret and I. 

"Are you two ok to come with me?" He asked. 

"Hell yeah!" Barret said with a grin. I just nodded, I wasn't nearly as enthusiastic. 

".....Sephiroth......." Cloud mumbled to himself and his eyes clouded over a little. Cloud seemed to have changed with the atmosphere, he had gone very cold. "........All right, let's go!" He said suddenly and he started moving towards the engine room. Barret and I followed, I couldn't understand why but I really didn't want to enter the engine room. 

I shivered when we walked through the door, it was as if the room was colder than it was outside, and there it was again, the all to familiar smell of blood. I stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of the bodies all over the floor. My breathing got much heavier and for some reason I was really scared as if the sight of dead bodies was new to me. Suddenly one of the men raised his head, there was blood flowing from his chest and the image of my own blood stained shirt all those years back flashed before my eyes. 

"....the Engine Room... a suspicious..... character..." he murmured. Suddenly he started to shout "No... there's no way.... that...... not a human..... That thing's not human....." he yelled before he lay his head back down and closed his eyes. 

"Cloud..." I whispered. He turned to look at me. 

"We have to hurry Tifa he might get away!" He said as he took my hand and started leading me down the stairs. I bit my lip to stop my own protests. Something was wrong... I didn't want to go into the engine room.... I didn't want to see him... he was in there... I knew he was... I could feel it. 

Cloud and Barret pushed the doors open very slowly. We could see a figure stood at the far end of the room with his back to us. Something was very wrong.   
"Is it........ Sephiroth?" Cloud asked as we approached him. The figure turned around slowly there was blood dripping front the exact same place where I had been struck. I covered my mouth with my hand and gasped a little as he fell to the floor.   
"No... not Sephiroth!" Cloud said almost sounding disappointed. 

"........After a long sleep..." A voice whispered. I knew the voice straight away. Barret and Cloud started to look around the room for the source of the voice but I couldn't take my eyes of the spot where the man had fallen. There was something about that spot in the room... 

"...the time..." he whispered, "...time has....... come....." suddenly the body started to disappear before my eyes, I gasped but it was a few seconds before I could speak.   
"Look, Cloud!!" I said pointing at the spot where the man had fallen. What I saw next I could not believe. The figure of Sephiroth arose from the floor like a ghost. At first I thought he was a ghost but his figure was solid, his green eyes shining, his masemunae by his side.   
"Sephiroth! You're alive!" Cloud shouted. 

"........Who are you?" Sephiroth said looking Cloud up and down. I closed my eyes trying to make it all go away. If Sephiroth didn't remember Cloud then maybe they had never met....maybe my memory was right... but Cloud had saved me...   
"You don't remember me!? I'm Cloud!" Cloud shouted. I opened my eyes to see Sephiroth look down. 

"Cloud..." He whispered the name as if trying to remember.   
"Sephiroth! What are you thinking!? What are you doing!?" Cloud asked, there was desperation in his voice. 

"...the time..... is now......" Sephiroth said as he straightened his body.   
"What are you saying!?" Cloud shouted. "Be more..." but before he finish Sephiroth rose of the ground and crashed into us all. Pain filled my body as I crashed onto the floor. I got up as quickly as I could clutching my aching ribs knowing there would be more to come. I was greeted by the lovely sight of a monster of some sorts. Suddenly a green mist passed over me and my pain stopped, I turned to see Cloud behind me clutching the cure materia. 

"He wont get away with hurting you again." Cloud said to me as he took his fighting stance. I quickly took mine and we fought the monster.

It took a lot of strength but we won and as the monster vanished a tentacle of some sorts was left behind. 

We were all silent as we gathered around it and Cloud bent over to get a better look. I had recognized the monster... 

"Jenova..." I whispered "He's been carrying this thing around." 

"Mother, I'm here to see you. Please, open this door." 

His words from the past flashed thought my mind... Jenova had been there behind the doors when he had struck me.   
"...Jenova. The arm of Jenova." Cloud mumbled. "So it WAS Sephiroth." He said, he still didn't seem able to believe it. 

"He said the time is now." Barret said. 

"...Time... is now?" Cloud asked, he was clearly shaken. We were all quiet for some time contemplating on what had just happened. My first meeting with Sephiroth since that awful night... he hadn't even looked at me... he didn't recognize Cloud... was Cloud there or not? I looked over at Cloud who was absorbed in his own thoughts. 

"I'm getting so... confused." I whispered. Cloud and Barret both looked at me. "Cloud, explain whats happened so far." I said looking directly at him . 

"I'll try, but don't interrupt me while I"m explaining." he said as he stepped away form us. "Sephiroth went off searching for the Promised Land, so he could become the ruler of the planet... That was 5 years ago. Then Sephiroth came back and killed President Shinra. And then just now all of us saw Sephiroth. He was carrying Jenova with him." he paused for a moment. "...This much I do know. He told me he wants to go to the Promised Land with his mother, Jenova. ....I guess that's about it." he said looking at me apologetically. Suddenly we heard the same voice that had come with the siren earlier causing us all to jump. 

"Dock workers-- We will be docking in Costa del Sol in 5 minutes. Prepare for docking." It announced. 

"We should hide somewhere again." I said as I made my way to the door. All I wanted to do was get away from the room and as far away from any memories of Sephiroth as soon as I could. 

Without turning back once I made my way to the cargo hold and opened a large crate. It was full of uniforms. 

"Ha at least I'll be comfortable!" I mumbled to myself as I jumped in. Suddenly I felt someone jump in with me. I turned to see Cloud beside me, the crate was just big enough for both of us.

"Wanting to keep one of the best hiding places for yourself eh?" He asked with a grin as he pulled the lid over us so there was only a crack of light shining through. 

"No, I just needed to think..." I said quietly. 

"I'm sorry Tifa..." he whispered as he touched my cheek with his right hand, "I let him hurt you again and I promised I wouldn't ... I'm sorry." he said. I brought my face closer to his and touched his cheek with my hand. 

"It's ok Cloud... you weren't to know... and look I'm ok." I said smiling at him. He rested his forehead against mine and stroked my cheek gently with his thumb. 

"I should have listened to you... I shouldn't have made you come... Tifa I know I get a little carried away when it comes to finding Sephiroth...I just have so many questions I need answers to. 

"I know..." I said as I stroked his hand.

"But don't ever let me put you in a situation where you don't feel safe just so I can find my answers... you mean so much more to me than any..." suddenly the boat stopped with a jolt and Cloud was thrown on top of me. "Shit you ok??" He asked. Before I could reply I heard footsteps. 

"shhh" I whispered as I put my finger on his lip. 

"Is there much cargo?" Grunted a voice. 

"Nah not that much, hey help me get this box upstairs. We will probably need more help with the bigger ones." The second voice said. I listened carefully and could hear the men lift the box and grunting as they slowly carried it up the stairs. Cloud sighed and lay down on top of me properly, resting his head on my shoulder. I smiled and started playing with his hair, for the first time that trip I was enjoying myself.

"You sleepy?" I whispered. 

"Yeah... we will find an inn when we get into town... that is if we ever get of this damn boat! He said. 

"You want to move?" I asked quietly. 

"Nope I'm pretty comfortable where I am..." Cloud said with a yawn as he wrapped an arm around my waist. 

"mmm me too..." I said as I closed my eyes... 'I could stay like this forever...' I whispered inside. 


	17. Chapter 17

As soon as the workmen had gone, Cloud and I made our way to the exit of the boat to find the rest of the team. Stepping outside I could feel the hot sunshine on my skin, I sighed quietly, loving the feeling.   
"Damn! Sure is hot here!" Barret moaned as he wiped some sweat off his forehead. "But I sure feel better now that I can say good-bye to this sailor suit." He said with a grin. Cloud and I smiled at each other, I knew I wouldn't ever look at poor Barret the same again!   
"Yo listen up!! Y'all be sure to mingle like regular folks here!" he said looking at us all.   
"Oh, too bad. I liked Barret's sailor suit. He looked so cute." Aeris said winking at him. Her pass didn't really seem to amuse him.   
".....What'ya mean cute " ?" Barret asked horrified.   
"I know exactly how the poor guy feels!" Cloud whispered to me. I laughed then caught Aeris glaring at me.   
"Right... well, uh..." I started quickly, "Barret, why don't you use that sailor suit for pyjamas?" I said with a grin. "Right, Cloud?" I said nudging him.   
"Ahhh.... You look like a bear wearing a marshmallow." Cloud said laughing. We all burst into laughter. I was happy to see Cloud so relaxed, but how could you not be in a town like this?   
"The hell's that supposed to mean!? This happens to be the most comfortable, so shu'up!" Barret said raising his gun, I put my hand on Cloud's shoulder and pulled him back a little trying to avoid another fight between them.   
"...puff...puff...Would you kindly hurry? The heat here is drying my nose." Red interrupted.   
"Yeah mine too!" Yuffie said frowning. I laughed and hugged her, she was so sweet.   
"Alright. We'll take a break here and then head off." Cloud said reluctantly. "Don't wander too far off."   
"I'll wander wherever I damn well want! Who made him the leader?" Barret said clearly still sore from the sailor suit comments.   
"It looks like my mane got messed up." I'm going to rest somewhere cool." Red said annoyed.   
"I guess the heat isn't for everyone." I said to Cloud as everyone started to walk away.   
"Yeah." Cloud said with a smile as he watched them go. "It is nice here but I don't want to lose too much time.." he said as he moved to put his arm around me. Suddenly I felt someone shove me aside and I had to struggle to keep my balance. I looked to see Aeris standing where I had been. 'What am I invisible?!' I thought to myself getting more and more annoyed with this girl.   
"Maybe I should get a tan for a change." She said holding onto Cloud's arm and grinning. I looked away clenching my fists. "Which do you like Cloud?" She said. I looked over at Cloud who was looking passed Aeris and right at me.   
"I like fair complexions." He said smiling at me.   
"Got it. I'll remember that." She said with a grin as she went of.   
I folded my arms and looked at the floor, my mood had been ruined.   
"Why the long face?" Cloud said as he put his arm around me.   
"I'm ok," I said as I forced a smile. "Just… sleepy." I added quickly.   
"aaww Tifa, a sad face doesn't suit you. Lets find an inn, I think we both need to rest." He said as he pulled me closer and we started walking together. I sighed and smiled, this suddenly felt like a holiday.   
There were people walking round in swimwear and there were kids playing football in the streets, everything about this town was so relaxed and happy.   
"You know there isn't a single cloud in the sky here," I said to Cloud as I looked up. "Wouldn't it be amazing to live in a place like this?" I said looking at him. He laughed,   
"Such a dreamer Tifa, but you never know maybe one day you will." He said as we stopped outside a house with a 'For Sale' sign.   
"Wow it's so pretty… I bet it costs a fortune." I said as I looked up at the villa.   
"Yeah just a regular house in an area like this is gonna cost a lot. We don't have to worry about stuff like that being travellers." Cloud said as he started moving but I didn't move. "Tifa?" He said in a confused tone.   
"Hmmm?" I answered lost in thought.   
"Whats wrong?" he said looking at me then following my stare to the house.   
"I was just thinking how perfect it would be to buy it and live here. I could open another bar but the area would be nice this time, I love the heat and everyone here seems so happy and nice. With all the tourists I would get to meet lots of new people and it's a great place to bring up ki…" I suddenly realised what I was saying and stopped myself. "b..but we should go now." I said smiling at Cloud then I quickly started walking but this time it was Cloud who stalled looking at the house before joining me.

I continued to observe the small town, the villa was definitely the nicest and biggest house there but there was no sign of the inn. Finally we stumbled across the beach, I was so tempted to take my boots of and walk on the warm sand. I looked up at cloud, 

"I think we are over dressed." I whispered. 

"Tell me about it, I'm so hot!" Cloud said as he wiped some sweat of his forehead. 

"Shall we go for a swim?" I said with a laugh, the sea looked so blue and cool and inviting. 

"mmm maybe if we come back here when everything is over, I promise we will swim then." Cloud said looking towards the sea. 

"Oh! Cloud!!" Squeaked a voice louder than all the people on the beach put together. I turned around to see Aeris stood there with all of her buttons undone, 'uh yuck! Look away look away! Is she trying to get a tan like that?!' I thought to myself in disgust. I turned to look at the other side of the beach when suddenly a familiar face caught my eye... I couldn't believe it!

"Look, look at that!" I said pointing at what looked like that bastard Hojo surrounded by a load of pretty girls! 

"Hm...?" Was Clouds response as he put a hand on my shoulder and looked where I was pointing. "Is that man over there, Hojo?" He asked. I blinked but sure enough he was still there looking exactly like the last time I had seen him complete with white lab coat. I looked at Cloud, 

"Go over and talk to him." I said, 'maybe we can get answers from him... not just about Sephiroth but about Aeris too.' I thought to myself. All three of us walked over to him, he didn't seem to notice us but the girls sat around him did. 'Has he invented some sort of love potion or something?! Oh God what if he has and it's like in the air around him!' I thought and suddenly moved a little behind Cloud not wanting to take any risks. One of the girls turned to look at us, she had a perfect tan, long dark hair and not much of a bikini on. 

"God!! What do you want?" She said in an annoyed tone. I raised an eyebrow, she really needed a good slapping and if she pushed me I so would. Cloud didn't seem amused either. 

"I want to talk with that man " he said in a tone which told me he would also lose his temper if pushed. 

"Hey, who do you think you are?" One of the girls muttered. The girl who had first spoken to us put her hand on Hojo's arm,

"Professor Hojo. That scary man says he wants to talk with you." She said fluttering her eyelashes at him. '...definitely a love spell...' I thought to myself. Hojo shook his head. 

"I'm busy right now." he said in an annoyed tone, he then looked up at us, ".....But. Too bad. Oh, I remember you all now." he looked us over again then took his glasses of, polished them on his lab coat and put them back on. "Yes, yes. I remember now." he said as he sat up and stared directly at Cloud. I kept one hand on Cloud's back...I really didn't like the way he was looking at him. 

"It's been a long time, Cloud." He said in a solemn tone. 

"Hojo....." Cloud said the name with contempt. I turned my gaze to Cloud's face, I didn't realise they knew each other. Suddenly Hojo laughed. 

"Sometimes you just gotta do something like this." He said as he lay back and grinned at us all. 

"....What are you doing?" Cloud muttered, still not sounding happy. 

"It should be obvious. I'm getting a tan." Hojo said as he laughed again then took a Champaign glass from one of the girls and sipped on it. I glared at Hojo but suddenly felt afraid as I could feel Cloud shaking a little. 

"Answer me!" He said in a much more threatening tone. 'Please don't lose your temper' I begged silently. 

"Hmm! I believe we're both after the same goal." Hojo said with a smile as he took another sip. 

"You mean Sephiroth?" Cloud asked, I felt his body relax a little and I sighed in relief, the last thing we needed was a fight.

"Did you see him?" Hojo asked raising an eyebrow. "I see..... Ha! Ha!" he gave the glass back to the girl and stood up never taking his eyes of Cloud. 

"What is it?" Cloud asked. 

"Nothing. I just remembered a certain hypothesis......." Hojo said with a menacing grin. "Haven't you ever had the feeling something is calling you? Or that you had to visit some place?......" he asked. I gripped the back of Cloud's shirt a little, I didn't like this. It was like Hojo knew something about Cloud... something Cloud didn't even know himself. 

"I'll go anywhere Sephiroth is at! To beat him and put an end to all this!" Cloud said almost immediately. Hojo looked down as if thinking. 

"I see...... This could be interesting." he muttered more than himself to us, he then looked up again. "Were you in SOLDIER? ....Heh heh heh! Would you like to be my guinea pig?" He asked followed by even more laughter, Cloud suddenly put his hand on his sword. 

"Oh, now what? Are you going to draw your sword?" Hojo asked his tone and grin mocking. A look of rage crossed Cloud's face and he drew his sword, I knew he would hack this man to pieces and we would lose any chance of getting answers out of him. I quickly moved in front of Cloud and put my hands on his arms. 

"Stop, Cloud! I know how you feel, but you mustn't." I said looking into his eyes. His expression softened and he put his sword back. I smiled at him and he smiled back at me... he listened to me... 

"Ha! Ha! Ha!...." Hojo cackled causing me to turn around. He walked over to Aeris who had been stood in silence the whole time and looked her up and down. 

"Say, aren't you the 'Ancient?" He said grinning. 

"I'm Aeris. The least you can do is remember my name." She said looking annoyed. "I want you to tell me something, Professor Hojo..... I know I'm an Ancient. My mother told me."She started. 

"Your mother? Oh, you mean Ifalna. How is she?" Hojo said with a smile.

"You didn't know? She died." Aeris said quietly. I suddenly saw a change come over Hojo, he looked away and he actually seemed upset. 

"......I see." He said quietly. It looked like even the seemingly insane professor Hojo had a weak spot. 

"Professor Hojo.... Is Jenova an Ancient? Is Sephiroth an Ancient? Do we all have the same blood?" Aeris asked, there was desperation in her voice. I didn't blame her...the last person I would want to be related to would be Sephiroth. 

"......mumble....mumble..... head west...." Hojo muttered under his breath. 

"He's mumbling slowly.... That must mean he's hiding something!" Aeris said annoyed. Hojo sat back down silent and visibly shaken. 

"................."

"Hey! Answer us!!" I said also feeling annoyed. 'This man has the answers to all our questions and more... why wont he talk?!' I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Cloud. 

".......It's no use. It's no go." He whispered as he took my hand and lead me of. Aeris followed us quickly.

"I can't believe him! He is so weird!" Aeris said as she sat down in the sand. "Well I'm not going to let him ruin this I'm gonna carry on enjoying the beach, I'm sure those boys over there like me, hehe I think you have some competition Cloud!" Aeris said winking at him. I glared at her and turned around annoyed. 

"What?" Cloud said sounding as annoyed as I felt. 'It's like all she cares about is getting between Cloud and I!' I thought to myself. 

"Tifa Lockheart?" I turned to see the girl with the long dark hair stood beside me. 

"Yes?" I said confused. Cloud noticed her speaking to me and came over. 

"What do you want?!" He said "If Hojo sent you over to play with her mind you had better go back to him before I slice you in half!" He said glaring at her. I was shocked at how aggressive Cloud had become... what was he afraid of. 

"I only want a word with your precious Tifa alone for a second!" The girl said as she took me by the arm and lead me away form Cloud. 

"Whats this about?" I asked her. 

"Hojo wanted me to pass on a message... 'beware Tifa Lockheart, your Cloud is not the man he would have you believe he is.' Thats all he said," She said and with that she turned and walked of. I stayed were I was reflecting on her words... I knew there were gaps in the story... Cloud himself admitted that... I knew Cloud's memory didn't fit with mine exactly... but he had always been my Cloud. 

"Tifa?" Don't let them fill your head with rubbish and split us apart.. because thats all they want to do. 'He has to be right... he is still the man I love... he always has been.' I turned around and smiled at him. 

"It's ok Cloud, They can try all they want... they won't pull us apart." I said. Cloud smiled and took my hand. 

"I'm glad you agree, now lets get to the inn...I need to rest." He said as he took me away from the beach. 

After some wandering we still couldn't find the inn. 

"Should we ask someone for directions?" I said to Cloud. 

"Uh sure but I'm not asking... I don't like... people." Cloud said looking down and scratching the back of his head. I smiled at him then looked around for someone, four guys were passing us carrying surf boards.

"Um excuse me?" I said quietly. They all turned around to look at me. They were all wearing sun glasses and had tans and very toned bodies. 'One of the benefits of living in a town like this must be that you get to look like an underwear model 24/7!' I thought to myself. 

"Can you guys direct us to an inn please?" I asked smiling. They all looked a each other and grinned... suddenly I didn't feel so confidant.

"ooohhh you want to go to the inn eh?" One of them asked as he stepped towards me. "You know I could maybe book a room for you and I" he said as he lifted his sunglasses to reveal his dark eyes and then winked at me. I felt my face flush a little but thankfully I was saved by a hand grabbing my wrist and pulling me away from them. I looked up to see Cloud who had now put his arm around me and was glaring at the guys. 

"On second thoughts... I'll ask!" He said looking down at me. I smiled and shook my head, I was so tempted to tell him how cute it was that he was all protective but I didn't want to embarrass him. "Look Tifa the door of that house is open, lets go in and ask the owner... I want to get out of this heat for a bit anyway." he said as he took me to the house. I looked around it as we entered, it was a small house and seemed to only consist of a living room, bed room and bathroom. We were greeted by a well built man with bright red hair. 

"What's with YOU!!" He asked. I suddenly felt like coming in here wasn't such a good idea. I tried to pull Cloud back a little but he stood his ground and the expression on the mans face suddenly changed to one of disbelief. "Hey, is it........ you?" He asked in a much softer tone looking Cloud up and down his eyes wide. "We were in SOLDIER, and childhood friends before that. You were such a playboy. And a $#&^ murderer!!" he said the last bit with the same aggression as before. Now it was my turn to be shocked as a thousand thoughts hit me at once... 'Childhood friends? I don't know this man...how could he have been friends with Cloud when we were kids... and if this man recognised Cloud did that mean Cloud really was in soldier... he really came with Sephiroth all those years ago... but...' 

"Why can't I remember your name?" The man whispered putting his hands over his face. I looked up at Cloud in desperation. Were these things he was accusing him of true? Who the hell was this guy? Cloud looked down at me then quickly looked back to the man. He shook his head slowly. 

"Who are YOU?" Cloud asked. 

"That's right. Long time no see. Do you remember me?" The man said with a small smile. I watched Cloud very carefully, he looked genuinely confused as he shook his head. "That's okay. We'll just keep on like we don't know each other." The man said as if there was some secret understanding between them... an understanding I needed in on! "I'm starting a new life in this town." he continued "A lot of things happened to us. Heh, I better stop my mumbling!" He then turned his gaze to me and smiled. "I sure envy you all just living outside with the sky as your ceiling." He said. I forced a small smile and nodded then quickly turned away from them both. I needed to get out of this house... what the hell was going on... I jumped a little when my thoughts were interrupted by a hand on my arm. I turned to see a girl about my age, slightly shorter than me with soft brown hair and eyes. 

"I'm sorry about that. He's had some big shocks lately and is pretty depressed." She said quietly. 

"I...it's ok... I'm sorry we shouldn't have just come in like that." I said trying hard to focus on what was going on and not all the thoughts in my head. I turned my attention to the man and Cloud. 

"Hurry up and get out of here!" I heard him say to Cloud. "I'm happy like this. So keep out of my life." He said before turning away. Cloud stood there looking so confused. I quickly took hold of his hand and pulled him away. 

"Cloud honey... let's go get some rest." I said as I gently lead him out of the house. As we walked in silence I kept hold of Cloud's hand but felt like I was in some sort of daze... 'what had just happened? A murderer? A playboy? That isn't my Cloud... how could that man know us when we were kids anyway... if he was a childhood friend I would recognise him, especially with that fiery red hair... but he knew Cloud was in soldier... but I never saw him in the newspapers... I didn't see him five years ago... I mean I did I saw him save me but he wasn't there all the time...uh I should just ask!' 

"...Cloud?" I whispered, afraid to ask because I was afraid of what he might say. 

"Tifa... I really don't know who that man was...Maybe he recognised me from soldier but thought I was someone else... I'm not those things he said." I felt Cloud take tight hold of both of my hands, "Tifa look at me.." I looked up into his shining blue eyes, they were pleading with me. "You believe me... right?" He said squeezing my hands a little. I closed my eyes for a second trying to pull my thoughts together. 'He seems so genuine... how can I not believe him? I love this man.. I have to trust him.' I opened my eyes and smiled at him. 

"Of course I believe you Cloud.. his wife told me he had been shaken and depressed lately. It was probably due to that he confused you with another soldier." I said as I moved one of his spikes away from his face. "Don't worry." I said gently. Cloud gave a sigh of relief. 

"I wouldn't normally care what people thought of me.. but it's you so it's...different." He said as he blushed a little and looked down. I felt my heart rate speed up a little and I also blushed. 

"How am I um...different?" I asked quietly. Cloud was silent for a moment looking at his shoes all the time but still holding my hands. 'I bet we look so silly stood here like this...but I don't care because I'm different... does that mean he... no I shouldn't even get my hopes up...' 

"Well... um Tifa... I... well... I..." he started mumbling quietly. 

"Heyyyyy are you guys STILL looking for the inn?" I turned around very very annoyed to see the guys from before stood behind me. One of them laughed a little and pointed behind Cloud. "It's just over there. Now go get a room love birds so we don't have to watch!" He said with a laugh. I glared at him a little and watched them walk passed me, the one who had so rudely invited me to share a room with him put a hand on Cloud's shoulder. 

"I'm sorry about before man I didn't know she was your girl." He said. Cloud just gave a small nod then keeping hold of one of my hands lead me to the inn. I knew I was smiling, I was very much enjoying the fact that people thought Cloud and I were a couple... but are we? I looked up at him then down at my hand which he was still holding. 'I can see why people would think it...and I know I love him...but I don't know how he feels and he doesn't know how I feel. Damn it I'm a confidant person, I should just tell him but noooo I have to be afraid of rejection!' I thought to myself as I watched Cloud pay for the room. He smiled at me and put an arm around me as he took me into the room and closed the door. 

"Oh thank god it's air conditioned in here!" Cloud said as he took his armour of and leaned his sword against the wall. It only just clicked with me how hot it must have been for him. I lay down on one of the beds and sighed, the change of temperature was very much welcome. I took my gloves and boots of then got under the white sheet. It was so cool and soft. 

Cloud sat down on the edge of the bed and took his boots of then his shirt. I bit my bottom lip secretly loving the sight. 

"Oh you um don't mind do you?" He asked as he got under the white sheet with me. I smiled at him and shook my head.

"Trust me Cloud I don't mind at all." I said with a giggle. Cloud laughed a little then yawned, he seemed so exhausted. 

"I'm sorry Tifa I'm gonna sleep... I can barely keep my eyes open." He said as he moved a hand over and put it on my tummy. I smiled and twisted one of his spikes around my finger absentmindedly.

"Thats fine Cloud, the leader needs to rest." I said quietly as I closed my eyes too. 

"mmm you keep the team together Tifa and you keep me sane... I don't know what I would do without you..." Cloud whispered as he wrapped both of his arms around me tight. I opened my eyes and looked at him shocked, but he was sound asleep. I sighed a little and kissed his forehead. 

"I love you Cloud Strife..." I whispered as I also closed my eyes and fell asleep. 


	18. Chapter 18

I opened my eyes to be greeted by a pair of azure eyes looking at me.  
  
"Hey," he said as he brushed a strand of hair away from my face.  
  
"Hey..." I said as I rubbed my sleepy eyes, a little embarrassed for him to see me like this.  
  
"Barret was just in here, he said everyone is ready to go but I didn't wanna wake you," Cloud said as he ran a finger over my cheek. I silently debated what to do in my head. Cloud looked so relaxed and happy and at that moment I felt so happy too... maybe now would be a good time...  
  
"Um Cloud..." I started as I took hold of one of his hands. "You know when we were kids... and you left and I made you promise..." I started, 'Ugh, I sound so dumb... I need to get to the point!' I scolded myself but before I had the chance to fit another word in the door flew open.  
  
"Barret said you guys were in here! Come on Cloud, let's go... Tifa, you are SO lazy! It's a lovely day and you are here in bed!" Aeris squeaked obnoxiously. I sat up and glared at her.  
  
"Cloud is in bed too!!" I said pointing at him, "and we had to fight a load of monsters before we got here... we are tired!" I was almost screaming in frustration. I felt Cloud put two of his hands on my shoulders and his lips brush against my ear as he whispered.  
  
"It's ok, calm down she isn't worth it." he said. I tried to relax a little but Aeris always seemed to ruin everything and was always trying to make me look bad in front of Cloud.  
  
"Oh Tifa, don't be silly! Cloud is our brave leader, he needs to rest. Now hurry up Cloud!" She left the room. I got out of bed and put on my boots and gloves fuming.  
  
"Hey Tifa...don't let her get to you. You fought just as hard as me and we all needed a rest... just because she doesn't know how to fight! I pity Red and Yuffie actually, they do all the work no doubt," Cloud said as he also put his boots on. I smiled and felt so much better.  
  
"Thanks Cloud... you are probably right. Now come on leader, I don't want to keep them waiting any longer than we already have," I said as I opened the door and stepped into the hotel lobby, closely followed by Cloud. Everyone was there waiting for us. Barret and Cloud started talking when Yuffie pulled me aside.  
  
"Oh my God, Aeris came in just now all 'you won't believe this, Tifa and Cloud were in bed together she is acting so easy!'" Yuffie whispered to me. My jaw dropped. I knew she was malicious but this was ridiculous. "But then Barret heard her and was all 'I don't want to hear ANY talk like that about Tifa from you or anyone... you mess with her you mess with me!'" Yuffie said doing her best to impersonate Barret's voice. "Then there was this awkward silence and you guys came in!" Yuffie giggled a little. I was still shocked and looked over at Aeris, who was stood beside Cloud and Barret watching them talk... well, watching Cloud. I looked back at Yuffie,  
  
"Why the hell does she hate me so much??" I asked. I really needed to know what her problem was.  
  
"Simple, she wants your boyfriend." Yuffie said, also looking over at Aeris.  
  
"Cloud is not my..."  
  
"Tifa?" I looked down to see Red stood beside me.  
  
"I can only assume Yuffie has been telling you what just happened. I want you to know that although I do not know you very well I do not think of you like that and I feel that Aeris would only say such a thing out of jealousy." He said. I smiled and stroked his head a little not quite knowing what to say.  
  
"Thankyou Red... that's really sweet." I said. It was comforting to know not everyone thought like her at least... I hate being stereotyped as a slut just because of the way I dress and because I dared to act friendly with the man I love! It's not as if I'd even...  
  
"And how was your sleep? You seem refreshed today... have the nightmares stopped?" Red asked pulling me out of my thoughts.  
  
"Yeah," I said smiling at him. "I didn't have a bad dream last night... they seem to stop when..." I quickly stopped myself. This was waaaay too embarrassing.  
  
"Right everyone, we will climb the mountains in the same teams as before." Cloud announced as he came over to me. "Good luck all of you...and be careful," he added as he followed Barret out of the door.  
  
"I'll see you guys later, okay?" I said to Red and Yuffie as I quickly followed.  
  
The walk over the mountains was long and tiring and the roads were desolate. It was really depressing. I liked having people around me. After some time spent walking, we found a man sat on some rocks all alone. His face was dirty and his clothes were torn, he reminded me of the poor people of the slums. He looked up at us hopefully.  
  
"Whew! Hey!" He said looking up at me. "You're actually talking to me." He smiled brightly.  
  
"What is it?" Cloud asked, his tone cold. He was always so suspicious of strangers.  
  
"I just passed a guy in a black cape back there," the man said. All three of us looked at each other. "I just tried to tell him that it's dangerous up ahead, and he ignored me!" I bit my lip,  
  
'He has just been here...he could be just over that hill... so close... '  
  
"Sephiroth...." Cloud whispered. We were all silent for some time, I was terrified inside but I knew we had to go on... the sooner we caught up with Sephiroth the sooner this would all be over... one way or another.  
  
"Let's hurry on." I whispered. Cloud nodded, I looked over at Barret who was stood with his back to us. Something was wrong. He was usually the one charging ahead but he didn't seem to want to go.  
  
I handed the man a few gil then went over to Barret and put my hand on his arm.  
  
"Are you ok?" I asked.  
  
"Um... yeah... lets um... go..." He said as he walked past me. Cloud took hold of my hand and we followed him.  
  
"Whats wrong with him? I'm worried..." I whispered to Cloud.  
  
"I don't know... but please Tifa, stay focused and don't wander away from me... if Sephiroth is around I can't risk it...I can't risk losing you..." he said as he squeezed my hand. I nodded and felt slightly safer knowing Cloud was there to protect me... the last thing I wanted to do was face Sephiroth alone again.  
  
As we carried on walking I kept a close eye on Barret, the further we went the more uncomfortable he seemed to get. We passed another reactor, I wanted to stop and look but Barret hurried us past it... something was very wrong.  
  
Eventually we arrived at what appeared to be a campsite. I looked around shocked, the people were in the same state as the man we had met previously and they were living in tents... it reminded me of the slums but out in the open air.  
  
"What is this place?" I whispered. I suddenly felt a hand grip my arm and I saw Barret beside me looking more distressed than I had ever seen him. I instantly put my hand on his.  
  
"Tifa... we all have pasts...there are some things I never told you..." Barret said quietly. "Wait here." He strode off into the camp. I turned to Cloud distressed.  
  
"Cloud... what's going on... what did he mean?!" Cloud put an arm around me.  
  
"Tifa, don't worry... I don't know what's going on either but you know and trust Barret. Don't worry," he said as he pulled me in closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and closed my eyes.  
  
'Barret and I have always been so close... I know it has to be something terrible if he didn't even feel like he could tell me about it...but then again we all have elements of our past we want to forget... we block it out and it's like it never happened... I know I've done that.'  
  
I suddenly heard the aggressive shouts of men.  
  
"Well, lookey here! Never thought I'd ever see your face again."  
  
"They kick you out of another town or somethin'?"  
  
My instincts immediately told me to go and help Barret, I tried to run in to see what was happening when I felt two arms holding onto mine.  
  
"Let me go Cloud!" I shouted in anger. "He may need our help!" I said struggling to free my arms.  
  
"Tifa..." came Clouds voice, "he told us to wait so we have to wait... I know you want to protect him but you have to respect his decision... this is something he wanted to do alone." Cloud stroked my hands with his thumbs. I stopped struggling and looked up at him.  
  
"You destroy everything you touch."  
  
"You got a lot of balls comin' back here!"  
  
"Look at this place! It's all your fault North Corel turned into a garbage heap!"  
  
"But listen to all the horrible things they are saying to him... they can't talk to him like that... that's Barret... he deserves better." I said pleading with Cloud with my eyes. I wanted to make their harsh words stop. Cloud simply responded by pulling me close to him and holding me tight. I sighed and rested my head against his chest... What was going on?  
  
"Why doncha say something!?"  
  
"Or did ya forget what you done here already?"  
  
"...I'm sorry...." Came Barret's voice. He sounded so depressed, a tone I had never heard him use before.  
  
"^%$#! You ain't even worth the effort."  
  
"Don't waste your time talkin' to the Techno-freak!"  
  
I looked up to see Barret had joined us again. He kept his gaze to the floor, looking utterly dejected. I let go of Cloud and put a hand on Barret's arm.  
  
"You heard 'em... It's my fault this town was... destroyed..." He said, almost inaudibly. He then turned and walked away from us as quickly as possible. My eyes were wide with shock and I could feel myself on the verge of tears.  
  
I didn't understand. Barret, who had been like a father to me... he was the one who tried to save the world, not destroy it. I needed to talk to him... I needed to know what had happened here. I quickly chased after him and I knew Cloud was close behind me. I finally found Barret by what appeared to be a station of some sorts, along with Aeris, Yuffie and Red. They were all stood there in silence looking confused and upset. Barret was clearly doing his best not to make any eye contact with anyone. Aeris finally broke the silence.  
  
"Barret, what happened?" Barret sighed and kept his eyes on the floor.  
  
"Sorry." He whispered.  
  
"What happened?" Cloud asked in a firm tone. I squeezed Cloud's hand, I didn't want him to push. I had never seen Barret so upset... so helpless... He sighed again, then began to speak.  
  
"My hometown used to be around here," he said as he kicked at one of the many rocks on the floor.  
  
"What do you mean, 'used to'?" Red asked.  
  
"It ain't here no more. Heard it got buried... in just 4 years." Barret shook his head.  
  
"But how could those people say those terrible things?" Aeris asked, confused.  
  
"An' it's my fault. ALL my fault." Barret said as he put a hand over his face. "Corel was always a coal mining town. It's so dusty, but calm and so poor... a real small town, this one. That's the first time I ever heard the word 'Mako reactor' mentioned since that time..."  
  
I listened to Barrets story about how the Shinra had tricked his poor village into believing Mako energy would make them money. None of this surprised me but what he told us next I did not expect.  
  
"It happened when Dyne and I were out of town for a few days. Corel was burned down by the Shinra troops." He was almost whispering by this point. "All the townspeople........ All my relatives......... Everyone...... Everything......" he kept one hand over his face. I couldn't believe it... Barret's hometown had been burnt down just like mine and all these years he had never said a word about it. I had told him my village had been destroyed but I had never gone into detail... we had both kind of accepted we had bad pasts and didn't want to talk about it but we got on well and fought for the same cause. Cloud stepped forward. He had a look of confusion and hurt.  
  
"Shinra troops? What for!?" Barret turned away from us.  
  
"There was an explosion at a reactor. Shinra blamed the accident on the people. Said it was done by a rebel faction." He said. I couldn't stay quiet any more, Barret had lived with this guilt for years when really the only people to blame were Shinra!  
  
"That's so terrible!" I started.  
  
"Well, I guess that's true. But more than Shinra, I couldn't forgive myself. Never should have gone along with the building of the reactor..." He still wouldn't look at me. I walked towards him and put my hand on his back.  
  
"Don't blame yourself. We were all fooled by the promises Shinra made back then," I said trying to comfort him. It was true. Shinra promised the people so much and we all lost out...  
  
"That's why... that's why I get so pissed off!! Not only did they take advantage of me... But I lost my wife, Myrna, too..." He whispered. I could feel tears building up inside me... I sometimes got so lost in my own grief about what happened I had forgotten that the others must be hurting too. Each had their own story and their own reason to be on this mission.  
  
"Hey everyone! If you want to go to the 'Gold Saucer', hurry and get on!" Came the voice of the ticket seller interrupting my thoughts. I turned to Cloud and put my hand on his chest.  
  
"Cloud... you all go on... I need to talk to Barret alone." I said giving him a small smile. He nodded,  
  
"Okay Tifa, I understand... If you need to talk or anything...." He said scratching the back of his head. I smiled properly this time and kissed his cheek.  
  
"I know, Cloud."  
  
I watched them all get into the small carriage before turning to Barret. He was facing me finally but still looking at the floor.  
  
"Barret... you and the other villagers made a mistake, you didn't have any reason to not trust the Shinra back then. It's horrible and unfair of them to lay all the blame on you when really it's Shinra they should be concentrating their hatred on. You and I... we have both been through hell... we lost our families and homes and lives to this thing that is so much bigger than us... but we fought back. You are the one who taught me how to fight back and I won't give up, not until we win...for my father... for your wife...for everyone Shinra has ever hurt we have to do this." I said as I held onto his hand tight. I could feel myself shaking a little... I was so terrified of Barret just giving up... "I can't do this without you..." I whispered. I felt him put his hand on my shoulder.  
  
"You really don't blame me for this? I must seem like such a hypocrite... I should have seen through them from the start!" He said.  
  
"Barret, I acted as a guide for Sephiroth... I worked for the man who destroyed my life... I practically worshiped him. Some people you just can't see through... neither of us had any way of knowing but the important thing is we are going to right the wrong." I looked up at him.  
  
"Yeah Tifa... they will regret the day they messed with Avalanche." He smiled a little. I hugged him tightly, so relieved to see the old Barret back.  
  
"The other are waiting, come on you, lets go. I really wanna see the gold saucer." I said to him. Barret laughed.  
  
"I know your game, you just wanna get back to Cloud." He said as he playfully pushed me into the carriage but he pushed a little too hard and I landed right on Cloud's knee making him jump in shock. I looked down blushing. Maybe he was right but I wasn't going to tell. 


	19. Chapter 19

The carriage started to wobble a little then move, I looked out of the window and suddenly realised how high up we were. I put my arms around Cloud's shoulders and looked down at him.  
"Is this um...safe?" I asked a little embarrassed. He gave a small laugh and put his arms around my waist.  
"Yeah Tifa don't worry it's not gonna drop." He said as he rested a head on my shoulder. I did my best to relax but I was still very much aware of how high up we were. I started to twist one of his spikes around my finger and looked over at Barret. He was looking at the floor and still looked depressed. 'I wish there was something I could do to help... I hate seeing him so down...'  
"Uhhhh I don't feel so good... I hate stuff that isn't… fixed to the ground!" Yuffie moaned as she put a hand on her tummy. Suddenly her expression changed to one of excitement and she put her hand on mine.  
"Tifa check out the view behind you!!" She said. I quickly turned my head as did Cloud. I could see fireworks and the amazing structure of the Gold Saucer.  
"Wow" I whispered. I suddenly felt the cart shake a lot more than before and looked up to see Aeris jumping up and down.  
"Yay I can't wait!!!" She squeaked. I could see Barret sat behind her still looking upset and not even slightly interested in the wonders of the Gold Saucer. I leaned over and put my hand on his but he didn't respond.  
  
"I'm just going to go talk to the ticket seller." Cloud said as he went over to them man by the door.  
"oooohhh do you think you can win materia here?" Yuffie asked me excited.  
"haha maybe, I've heard so much about this place but I never got the chance to come here until now... my dad had always said he really wanted to bring me here one day." I said looking down.  
"Eh your lucky Tifa, my dad wouldn't have tried to find the time to bring me here even if it was part of our village..." She said as she also looked down.  
"Uh look at us getting depressed when we are in the so called most fun place in the world!" I said as I poked her a little.  
"Yeah and hey at least we don't have that guys job!" Yuffie said as she pointed to a guy walking round dressed as a choccobo. We both giggled as we finally entered the Gold Saucer.  
I suddenly felt Aeris push past me as she ran to the front of the room we were in.  
"Wow! Let's have fun!" She screamed. There was no reply as everyone seemed more concerned about Barret who was stood with his back to us. I really didn't know what to do. Suddenly Aeris walked over to him. 'Uh stop her she will make things worse!' I thought to myself.  
"I know this isn't the right time to do this." She said. "Hey, Barret, cheer up!" She said with a big grin. He responded by stepping away from her which was a lot less than I would have done.  
"I ain't in no cheery mood. So jes' leave me alone." She said, I could tell by the tone of his voice he was trying to control his anger but he would snap soon.  
"Really? That's too bad." She said grinning. I sighed and put a hand over my face. As if he wasn't in a bad enough mood already. Aeris next decided to anger me as well as Barret by running over to Cloud and grabbing his arm.  
"Let's go!" She said with a grin. I looked away and suddenly I was overcome by a feeling of pure rage.  
"Tifa calm down..." I heard Red whisper. "Take a deep breath then go and advise her to not be so insensitive in the future." He whispered. I nodded and walked over but I heard Yuffie call behind me.  
"And if that doesn't work slap her!" I smiled a little and tapped Aeris shoulder, she was holding onto Cloud's arm and looking up at him like she had never seen a male before. He looked relieved when I came over. I didn't know if I should be jealous or feel sorry for Cloud. I put my lips to Aeris' ear.  
"...whisper... whisper... (Wasn't that a little harsh, Aeris!?)" I asked. She let go of Cloud and whispered back in my ear.  
"...whisper... whisper... (Just act normal when this happens)" I frowned, she really didn't get it.  
"...whisper... (You think so...?)"  
"Of course!" She said with a grin then before I could stop her she ran over to Barret again.  
"We're gonna go play..." She said with a grin. I could actually see Barret shaking with rage now. There was one thing I had learnt over the years and that was when Barret said he wanted to be alone he really meant it.  
"So PLAY! ...messin' round #$! Don't forget we're after Sephiroth!" He screamed before running and jumping into the wonder square portal. I knew he had gone to avoid any violence but I was relieved to hear him scolding us and telling us to keep our minds on the job. It sounded like he was getting back to his normal self.  
"...I think he's mad." Aeris said looking a little shocked. I quickly covered Cloud's mouth with my hand to stop him making a sarcastic comment.  
"He'll be fine. He seems to be doing a little better now." I said as I moved my hand and smiled at Cloud. He smiled back.  
"Right Tifa and I will go together and you three can go together. Um have fun but be careful." Cloud said.  
"What?! But Cloud I thought you and I could go have some fun together... alone!" Aeris said winking at Cloud. 'Uh I know exactly what that bitch is suggesting!!' I thought as I dug my nails into my palms. Cloud took hold of my hand tight and shook his head.  
"Sorry um those are the er teams..." He said as he quickly lead me away. I giggled and stopped him.  
"We'd better be careful, Sephiroth might be around." I warned but I was still grinning over Cloud's obvious rejection of Aeris.  
  
Cloud pulled me close as we sat down in the beautiful arena of the events square. We were silent for a while, I couldn't help looking around me and admiring the structure of the arena. Soft music was coming from somewhere and apart from that the only other sound was couples soft whispers to each other.  
"I'm… sorry if Aeris upset you before... I feel guilty because I'm the one who let her come along in the first place." Cloud said as he looked down at my right hand which he was holding on his lap. His grip was a little tense showing me how worried he was.  
"It's ok Cloud, Barret and I can cope with her…" I said with a smile trying to reassure him. Cloud had enough to worry about. Aeris bothering me shouldn't be added to that worry. "She is harmless." I said as I kissed his cheek. "And besides I know you only wanted to help what you saw as a person in trouble... one of your many good qualities..." I whispered. I couldn't believe how honest and open I was being but sitting there in such a happy and relaxed atmosphere I suddenly felt so close to Cloud... so in love.  
Clouds hand instantly relaxed.

"Ha one of my only good qualities..." Cloud said scratching the back of his head as his cheeks went a little pink. I smiled 'he looks so cute when he is all embarrassed.' I thought to myself. "I wish I could be more like you Tifa... you are so friendly and get along with people so easily. Even when we were kids you were like that..." he said quietly and I felt him squeeze my hand a little.  
"Yeah I remember..." I said "I guess being the only girl in the village I couldn't risk being all shy or I would have just ended up an outcast..." I said as I stroked his hand with my thumb.  
"It was in your nature Tifa... I just wish it had been part of mine..." He whispered. I looked up at him, his face was very close to mine because we had been whispering.

"Cloud… you remember our childhood?" I whispered. I wanted to hear memories that actually fitted, I wanted to feel close to Cloud again.

"…I remember Tifa…I remember everything…" His grip on my hand tightened and it was almost painful… "I remember what it was like to be so alone… but I always had you…" I closed my eyes trying to remember everything. My first memory of Cloud… what was my first memory of the man I feel like I have loved all my life… He suddenly stood up and pulled me to my feet. I was shocked at his change of mood... I had been so comfortable sat there with him… it was as if we had been in another world and he had suddenly dragged me from it.  
"Cloud..." I whispered.  
"Sorry Tifa I just think we should keep moving…" he said as he pulled me a little. I didn't move. He turned and put his hands on my shoulders and sighed. "…besides… I know you will want to see all of this place before we leave." He said as he smiled and put an arm around me and lead me out of the door and out of that other world…

I tried to relax... Cloud always seemed to hate talking about the past...even when it didn't concern soldier... even when I talked about our childhood. I couldn't understand why...

"Yeah you bet and I wanna go on every ride and everything!" I said as I laughed and gently pushed him into the portal for the Speed Square. As soon as we entered we were greeted by a well built man wearing nothing but leopard skin pint underwear! I turned away in disgust.  
"Ewwww I do not wanna see a man in his 40s dressed like that!!!" I whispered to Cloud. Cloud laughed but tried to hold it in when the man started talking to us.  
"Hey boy." He said with a grin.  
"Boy..." Cloud said rather un impressed.  
"How is it? You having fun?" He asked. Cloud was too busy glaring at him to answer, I was about to when the man looked me up and down and laughed. "Mmm, so you ARE having fun. Well, good, good for you boy." He said as he winked at Cloud. 'Uh macho pig!' I thought to myself and I crossed my arms over my boobs mainly to stop him staring at them!  
"My name's Cloud. And stop calling me boy." Came Cloud's cold response.  
"Mmm? Me? I'm the owner of the Gold Saucer. The name's Dio." He said as he admired himself in one of the shiny walls."Just call me 'Dio'." He said as he ran his fingers through his hair. I rolled my eyes and pretended I was looking at the portals.  
".........(Not even listening)"  
"By the way, boy, do you know what a 'Black Materia' is?" He asked casually. Cloud and I both looked at each other. I had never heard of the stuff but it didn't sound good. "What is it? "Why d'you ask me?" Cloud asked.  
"Well, a while back, a boy your age came in and asked me if I had a 'Black Materia.' I thought you might know who he was, seein' as how you're both about the same age." he said still admiring himself. 'Oh god it can't be... Black materia sounds like an evil kind of magic... what would he do with it?' I thought to myself.  
"Did he happen to have... a Black Cape..." Cloud asked a little reluctantly, he knew who it was as well as I did.  
"Why yes, yes indeed. And a tattoo on his hand that said '1'." He said as he gestured to his right hand.  
"Where did he go!?" Cloud asked, he suddenly looked worried and I felt him grip my hand as if he was trying to make sure I was still there.  
"Ha ha ha, I have no idea." Dio said with a grin. He put one hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Well then. I say, stop by the Battle Arena if you like, boy. You'll probably like it. Many of my collections are on display there. Ha, ha ha." He said as he left the room still laughing. I looked up at Cloud who seemed lost in thought.  
"I didn't like him" I whispered.  
"Neither did I..." Cloud said as he looked down at me. "Do you think Sephiroth is still here?" He asked.  
"No I don't...he found out what he is looking for isn't here so he left. He isn't the type to hang around." I said, I suddenly felt like my first experience at the Gold Saucer wasn't going to be so much fun after all.  
"Tifa don't look so depressed... the others won't want to leave yet so come on lets go have a look around." He said as he smiled at me... My spirits were lifted as we made our way to the Wonder Square.  
"I can't wait to go on the arcade games... I haven't played video games for years. I remember I used to play with the boys in the village all the time and I would beat them all!" I said smiling at the fond memory.  
"hehe well you won't beat this boy." Cloud said as he playfully slapped my bum.  
"Oh yeah we will see!" I said as I poked him in the ribs gently. Before we could go up the stairs we were approached by a... cat riding a moogle?  
"Oh god I would never dress up in silly costumes like that no matter how much they paid me!" Cloud whispered to me.  
"Yeah but you would dress up as a girl!" I said with a laugh.  
"Heeeey that was to save you!"" Cloud said as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.  
"Hey you!! What're you lookin' so down for!?" The cat said making both Cloud and I jump. "How 'bout it? Want me to read your fortune!? A bright future! A happy future! Oh, but don't hold it against me if it's not a great prediction!" He said with a grin. I just stared at him, how the hell did it work? The cat was too small to have a guy inside and it's mouth and eyes were moving! "Oh, so sorry! I'm a fortune telling machine. The name's... Cait Sith" he said as he extended a paw to me. I shook it still a little shocked.  
"You can only read the future?" Cloud said doing his best to sound un impressed. "You kidding!? I can find missing things, missing people, anything!" Cait Sith said. I knew exactly what was coming next.  
"Then can you tell me where a man named Sephiroth is?" Cloud asked. I laughed a little, either Cloud was predictable or I knew him quite well.  
"Sephiroth, right? Okay, here goes!!" Cait Sith said as he did a little dance. After a few readings that had nothing to do with anything Cloud lost patience.  
"...Forget it." He said annoyed. I was also losing patience... I liked all that seeing into the future stuff but this guy wasn't very impressive.  
"Wait, wait give me another chance!" He said. Cloud shook his head and took my hand trying to move me away from Cait Sith. "Wait! Let me try it again!" He said. I sighed and stopped. 'I know I'm too soft but I would feel mean if I didn't give him one more chance...' I thought to myself as I watched him do another dance. He gave Cloud the paper with his reading on but this time Cloud didn't read it out loud straight away... he just kept looking at it.  
"...What the!?" he said sounding a little distressed. I was suddenly worried... I knew Cloud didn't really believe in this stuff so it must have been bad for it to actually have an effect on him.  
"What does it say?" I asked.  
"What you pursue will be yours. But you will lose something dear." He said as he looked up at me... he looked worried and I didn't feel so confidant either. '...lose something dear.... what if it means me... is Sephiroth going to kill me?' I thought as I moved my hand over the place where he had struck me.  
"I don't know if it's good OR bad... This's the first time I ever got something like THIS." Cait Sith interrupted. "Then shall we?" He said.  
"Excuse me?" I asked, surely he didn't think he was coming along with us!  
"As a fortune teller, I can't help but think about this. If I don't see what it leads to, I won't be able to relax. That's why I'm going with you!" He said folding his arms. I looked over at Cloud who didn't look happy.  
"Is that all right, Cloud?" I asked.  
"I'm comin' with you no matter WHAT you say!" He said.  
"H... hey!" Came Cloud's response. Cloud grabbed my arm and pulled me away but Cait Sith followed.  
"Tifa!" He hissed in my ear, "knock it out and we will run away." He whispered.  
I looked behind me at the smiling Cait Sith.  
"...Cloud it's a moogle and a cat... I can't hit it!!" I whispered back.  
"Uh… me either... Barret would be useful right now!" Cloud said as we entered the arcade.  
"Lets forget about him for now and have some fun." I said smiling and pushing thoughts of the prediction to the back of my mind.  
The next two hours were the best in the journey so far, we played the arcade games, rode the roller coaster in the Speed Square (making it onto the wall of fame with our high score), betting on the choccobo races and just generally enjoying our time together and getting to know each other better. Unfortunately Cait Sith was never far behind which was a bit of a mood spoiler and it stopped the conversation getting too serious otherwise I might have told him... who am I kidding?  
"Hey Tifa we haven't been to the Battle Square yet. That Dio said we should check it out." He said.  
"Ok lets go," I said as I put the small stuffed choccobo Cloud had won for me in my items bag.  
"Hehe what are you gonna call him?" Cloud said as he poked the head of the toy which was sticking out of my bag.  
"Hmmm maybe I'll call him Cloud, your hair kinda looks like a choccobo." I said as I giggled and ruffled his hair a little.  
"Hehe so cheeky Miss Lockheart." He said as he pushed me into the Battle Square portal. 


	20. Chapter 20

"Do you think Dio will be here?" I asked as we entered the Battle Square lost in my own happiness that seemed inevitable due to the bright lights and cheerful music. Suddenly I felt Cloud grip my arm and I stopped dead when I saw a man in front of me keeled over. I extended my hand to him and was about to ask if he was ok when he dropped to the floor covered in blood and bullet wounds. I couldn't believe it, was death to follow us everywhere we went, even here!

"Mm? Dead..." Cloud whispered as he inspected the body, he then got up and started to move towards the entrance to the Battle Arena.

"What? Wa... wait Cloud!" I shouted as I chased after him. He was being incredibly foolish just walking in, especially as the wounds of the man looked so fresh. Whatever it was that killed him was probably still here.

On entering the Battle Arena I was confronted by a sight that was almost becoming normal but never tolerable since Cloud, the others and I had started this journey. All around the room were dead bodies, scarlet blood flowing from their wounds. Cloud was looking around the room clearly shaken.

"Did Sephiroth do this? No... it's not him... They're all shot... Sephiroth would never use a gun..." he said speaking my own thoughts. I suddenly heard a noise coming from one of the bodies, I looked around and noticed one of them moving slightly. The man was still alive, though barely.

"Ugh, ugggh." He groaned as he coughed up blood. Cloud, Cait Sith and I ran over to him.

"Hey, what happened!" Cloud asked gently.

"Ugh... ugh... a man with a gun... on his arm..." The man uttered before shutting his eyes, the rising and falling of his chest stopped and with that we knew he was gone leaving us with his haunting words.

"A gun on his arm?" I said turning to Cloud who looked as confused and frightened as I felt. I knew Barret was upset but he wanted to protect the innocent… he would never…

"Hold it right there! And stay quiet!" Screamed an enraged voice. I stood up and turned around quickly to see Dio and his men. It occurred to me how bad this must look. "Did you guys do this?" He shouted. He looked so angry I instantly knew there would be no getting through to him.

"N... no, it wasn't us!" Cloud protested.

"I must've been wrong..." Dio said looking down. I then felt Cait Sith' pushing me.

"Hurry and run, it's gonna get ugly." He warned. I looked around and noticed the guards hadn't lowered their weapons and were slowly advancing.

"Hey!" Cloud protested but he may as well have been speaking to a deaf man. As far as they were concerned we were guilty.

"Hold them!" Dio shouted. We tried to run but we were surrounded. "That's as far as you go." Dio said with a smile. Suddenly this fat man in a thong was our judge, jury and executioner.

"Wait," Cloud said once again hoping to reason with them. I didn't want to fight either, as un fair as these people were being they were not our enemy and genuinely seemed to think they were punishing murderers. "listen to..."

"Cloud..." Cait Sith interrupted him. We all looked up to see robots of some kind approaching us. They were huge and looked really strong. I tried to back away but they grabbed us. All of a sudden fighting wasn't even an option and I wasn't sure if they were going to kill us there and then. I struggled to breathe under the robots tight grip. Things had already started to go blurry and struggling wasn't helping. I could see Dio talking to a cop and I heard Cloud inhale a deep breath.

"Hey! Pay attention!" He screamed in one final effort to prove our innocence.

"There's no need to listen. Pay for your crime down below!" Dio said evenly. He then turned to the cop. "Do it!" he commanded.

Suddenly the robots let us go and we started to fall. I could finally breathe but the relief was soon replaced with pain as I hit the ground.

I opened my eyes, it was bright… very bright and very hot. I sat up and inspected my hands and knees. A few scratches but nothing major. I ran my fingers over the soft sand. That was probably the reason why the fall hadn't been too bad. I looked over at Cloud and Cait Sith who were slowly getting up.

"Are you all right?" I said to Cloud as I dusted myself off. He simply nodded then looked around him.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"A desert prison... Corel Prison..." Was Cait Sith's gloomy response. I covered my face with my hands and sighed. As if the prospect of one of my best friends going on a rampage and turning against their own beliefs wasn't enough to deal with.

"A desert prison?" I heard Cloud ask.

"Yup, a natural prison in the middle of the desert...

surrounded entirely by quicksand." Cait Sith explained. "I heard that once you get in, you never get out... But, there was one special exception..." He said. At the mention of a possible escape I uncovered my eyes to look at Cait Sith but something in the distance behind him caught my eye, a familiar shape…

"Barret?" I shouted loud enough for him to hear and look over at us. I wasn't sure if I should be happy or afraid… he was my friend, I trusted him more than I did anyone. I had to hear what he had to say before I passed any sort of judgement. I started to run towards him when Cloud grabbed my arm.

"Barret... Did he really..." he whispered in my ear. I put my hand over his mouth instantly. I didn't want to hear it, I wanted to hear what Barret had to say.

"Lets just go talk to him Cloud, I know he isn't a cold blooded killer." I said gently as I moved my hand away from his mouth. Cloud's grip on me loosened and he nodded.

"Ok… you know him better than I do and I trust your judgement. Let's go." Cloud said as he put his arm around me.

"Stay back! This's something I gotta deal with. Jes' leave me

alone..." Barret suddenly shouted. My heart sank and I was suddenly really afraid. What could possibly be so terrible that he would want to keep us away, especially after all the terrible things we had seen together.

"Whew! That's one of your friends? He sure looks dangerous..." Cait Sith whispered. He had suddenly appeared by my side, I had forgotten he was even with us.

"...Barret..." I said gently but he kept walking away. I felt Cloud squeeze my shoulder but it was little comfort. I turned to face him, his eyes looked sympathetic. "I…I don't understand." I said blinking back tears. Cloud crouched down a little so his face was on the same level as mine.

"It's going to be ok, do you remember when I went to walk out of Seventh Heaven and you chased after me?" He asked as he brushed a strand of hair away from my face. I nodded but kept my eyes on the floor. "I needed you then even if I wasn't acting like it. People like Barret and I… we are proud and we can't really admit it when we need our friends so we go and hide all alone getting more and more angry. I think he needs you now even if he isn't acting like it." Cloud said as he pulled me in close and hugged me. I closed my eyes and pushed my fear and sorrow to the back of my mind.

"You're right… you are so right Cloud… thank you." I said as I looked up at him and smiled before standing on my toes and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. He was a lot more perceptive than he let on and seemed to be becoming a lot more sensitive.

"So lets go find him!" Cait Sith said with a grin.

After walking round the area trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone we found Barret in a house that seemed to be close to falling apart. He turned as we entered the room pointing his gun at us.

"Didn't I tell you not to come here?" He screamed, he was shaking all over, I wasn't afraid anymore. I wanted to comfort him and to understand.

"Ju... just hold on for a second! We just want to talk! You'll understand if you just hear us out!" Cait Sith stuttered, his hands were raised and he looked terrified. Barret suddenly pointed his gun at a corner of the room and shot. I jumped at the loud bangs then the body of a man fell out from behind the book case he was aiming at. I felt sick but at the same time I was impressed at Barrets skill.

"Didn't want none of ya to get involved..." He said looking down at the floor. His tone was a lot softer. I was about to ask him why he was being like this when Aeris, Yuffie and Red walked in.

"Hey that's Cloud's line! ...It's too dangerous, I can't let you

get involved... 'blah, blah blah..." Came Aeris' squeaky voice.

"Yeah. We're already involved in this." I added.

"We saw you and hurried here. Barret, just tell us what's going

on." Aeris demanded. Barret seemed to relax, he looked really depressed and tired.

"You guys..." he whispered.

"I heard that the murders at the Battle Arena were done by a

man with a gun-arm. ...Was that you?" Red asked in a calm tone. He seemed almost unaffected by the whole thing. Barret sighed deeply.

"There's another... another man that got a gun grafted inta on of his arms. It was four years ago..."

We all listened to Barrets tragic story. I couldn't believe I was learning so many new things about my friend. There was so much he had kept hidden from us and I felt like I was only really getting to know him now.

"From then on, I couldn't use my right arm no more. ...I was depressed for a while. But then I threw away my artificial arm and got this gun grafted in. Got a new right arm to get revenge on the Shinra, who took everything away...Back then, I heard the doc say there was another man who got the same operation as me. But, his was the left arm." He concluded. Finally I fully understood why. I always thought he just hated what they were doing to the people but like me Barret had a much deeper much more personal reason for hating Shinra.

"But... Dyne's injury was the same as yours, right?" Aeris said.

"Yeah, that's right. He was deceived by the Shinra, too. He'll probably join us to fight against the Shinra." I said trying desperately to find the silver lining to Barrets dilemma.

"...wouldn't bet on it. I gotta 'pologize to Dyne before I can rest in peace. An' that's why, I gotta go alone." Barret said quietly. I wrapped my arms around myself as I contemplated the situation. This man was clearly dangerous and possibly insane. He had already killed so many people… what would he do to my friend.

"Do whatever you want..." Came Cloud's voice from the corner of the room. "Is that what you want to hear? Well, I can't let you do it. Because, if you die on me, I'm gonna have nightmares." He said in a very matter of fact tone. I looked over at him and smiled. I wanted to go over and kiss him there and then. He really did care and that alone meant so much to me.

"Barret, this isn't the end." Aeris said trying to sound comforting.

"Weren't you going to save the Planet?" I asked folding my arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Shit! Tifa, you oughtta know by now." He said, a look of guilt in his eyes.

"...That's all right. I'm not so different from you." I said as I gave him a small smile. We weren't all that different at all really. We both wanted to save the world from the evil that had ruined our lives and nothing was going to stop us.

"So there it is, Barret. So I guess it'll be Barret, me, and Tifa." Cloud said. The rest of you try to work on a way of getting out of here while we solve Barrets unresolved business.

"Um… could you guys give us a minute please?" I asked quietly. Cloud looked a little surprised but he nodded his head.

"Um yeah sure… we'll just be outside." He said. He pressed his lips to my ear and took hold of my right hand as they all made their way out of the house. "Be your gentle, understanding self… it's what he needs," he whispered. I nodded and squeezed his hand. He had been amazing through this whole thing. I was now surer than ever that he was the one I wanted to be with.

"Tifa…" Barret started but he just looked at the floor.

"Why did you omit that bit of the story back at the station? You always said you lost your arm in a shooting accident." I said avoiding eye contact. I was starting to feel like Barret and Cloud were both keeping things from me.

"Tifa… some memories hurt too much to face even when you're trying to be totally honest. You must have felt the same when Cloud was telling your story." He said quietly. I nodded my head and finally we both looked up at each other and smiled.

"It's going to be ok you know… no matter how he reacts to seeing you, Cloud and I are here and we still care about you." I said as I went over and hugged him.

The group and I were sat on some large rocks in the prison in silence. Each lost in their own thoughts. The fight between Dyne and Barret was awful. The man was completely mad, his insanity reminded me of Sephiroth but on a much simpler level. We were now waiting for Cloud to win the Chocobo races and get us out of this hell hole.

With all the drama going on I hadn't had time to take in my surroundings. Everyone in the prison seemed insane and for some reason it seemed as if all of their staring eyes were fixed on me. I shuddered and shuffled a little closer to Barret who was sat next to me absentmindedly playing with the pendant Dyne had given to him.

"What if Cloud doesn't win?" Yuffie asked as she threw a rock at one of the larger ones (a game she had been playing for the past ten minutes).

"Don't worry he will," I said as I picked up a small rock and threw it at the large rock.

"Yeah but what if he doesn't…and we're stuck here for ever and we have nothing to do all day but play with rocks and fight with those weirdoes for our amusement?" Yuffie asked as she gestured to a group of prisoners. We both looked at each other and giggled at the ridiculous prospect.

"Whats so funny!" Aeris asked which only caused Yuffie and I to giggle more.

"Ahem!" Came an unfamiliar voice. We looked up to see a short blonde man stood in front of us looking down at a clipboard he was holding through his large round glasses. "Are you Barret, Tifa, Yuffie, Cait Sith, Red and Aeris?" He asked reading our names from a list. We all stood up quickly, this looked very promising.

"Yes…" I answered and I held my breath waiting for his response.

"Your friend a Mr Cloud won the races… you're all free to go." He said as he looked up from his clipboard and smiled at me. I exhaled a sigh of relief as Yuffie hugged me screaming in excitement.

"We get to goooo we get to gooo!" She sang as we followed the blonde man to the platform. "Hahaha you all have to staaaaay!" She sang pointing at some of the prisoners we were passing. I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her beside me.

"Honey you don't want to die on your way out of here do you?" I whispered.

"Aaaaww Tifa you know we could take them!" Yuffie said as she playfully poked me. She was probably right but I still felt a lot better when we were on the platform going up and safely away from the desert prison.


End file.
